Freedom
by Shastakine
Summary: The Straw Hats land at Liberty Island, a no man's land of tourism and night life. But there's a dark underside of the island that they find they just can't leave be.
1. Chapter 1

The crew of the Thousand Sunny stepped off the ship and into the harbor upon arriving at their most recent destination, Liberty Island. For once, Nami was relaxed. No one had to fear the navy in this particular port; it had long been abandoned to the likes of various gangs, crime syndicates, and general thugs and delinquents. An arbiter had taken over governing the city; but the local government was more of a novelty than anything functional. City officials were merely celebrities that enjoyed throwing their titles around. The Straw Hats could even dock in the harbor without fear. One would think that no one would want to stay in such a den of anarchy; but the shopping was fantastic and the night life incredible. There was not a single Straw Hat that wasn't excited about landing here.

Luffy was long gone in a frantic search for food before the crew could agree on when and where to meet up, or even on how long they would spend on this island. Nami only shook her head after him, confirming with the rest of the crew that they would return to the ship at dusk; then she and Robin left to head to the shopping district. Chopper and Sanji took off to the market to hunt for ingredients for medicine and cooking. Franky, Usopp, and Zoro headed towards the industrial part of town; Franky and Usopp searching for gadgets and mechanics that they could either use on the ship or were interesting even without a use, and Zoro in search of a worthy blacksmith to provide some long overdue maintenance to his beloved swords. He kept them well cleaned, but the blades could use some sharpening, and he wanted the hilts inspected for durability.

"Why are the industrial areas of town always the seediest?" he muttered to himself, passing by dark alleys and barred up windows. Shady characters hovered in doorways along the road, eyeing him curiously as he walked by. It appeared they were sizing him up for a good mugging, but the three swords at his side and the mere presence he held seemed to be enough to keep them at bay. Ahead of him he saw thick black smoke exiting out the top of a rundown shack, indicating a blacksmith nearby. Now, to see if this particular smith would meet his standards.

Zoro looked up at the sign swaying creakily that read _Paul's Metalworking_ in faded letters. _Not the creative type,_ he smirked to himself upon entering the small building. It was dark inside, and no one appeared to be around, at least not in the front of the building. It was much deeper than it seemed at first glance; in the front room weapons of all sorts were hung on the walls, piled in chests around the room, and stacked into barrels. Zoro pulled a sword out of a barrel to check the quality; it was a well-made sword, if a bit plain. He swung it a few times; it was well balanced, and upon closer look, he discovered the blade was even and very sharp. Perhaps this place would work, if he could find the smith who forged this sword. He looked around; polearms lined one wall, the scythes and glaives each had the equal quality of the sword he first looked at. Yes, this place would do well.

"Can I help you?" a timid voice asked from the doorway behind the counter.

Zoro's eyes landed on a young woman who was covered in soot almost from head to toe. She wore a smudged white button up shirt and skirt, and over that had on a thick leather apron and matching gloves that were equally dirty. Her hair was pulled back and covered with a bandanna; Zoro couldn't discern the color of hair or bandanna for the dirt and the dim light. "I'm looking for the blacksmith who made the weapons out here. I have three swords that need maintenance."

"Well, my master is out at the moment," she said meekly, lowering her eyes to the ground. Zoro noticed the armbands clasped around her wrists; she wasn't restrained to the place but they clearly indicated that she was someone's property. Zoro contemplated this for a moment; in such a city as this human trafficking certainly wasn't beyond imagination, he just hadn't considered it before. "But I can help you, I made most of the blades out here," she said, a small smile crossing her face with pride at her work.

Zoro was taken aback; she had a slight frame and was so mild, he had difficulty believing that she could handle such a craft as blacksmithing or the customers that it tended to attract. "When will your master be back?" he asked.

The girl looked crestfallen but answered his question. "He left to get supplies about an hour ago and most likely won't return for a few more hours," she paused before continuing, "I honestly can help you, I know I don't look like much, but if you want I'll prove my work to you. Then you won't have to wait."

Zoro considered this. What the hell, why not? "All right, prove that you can smith this well."

Her eyes lit up once again and she gestured for him to follow her into the back of the building. They entered a poorly ventilated and hot workshop, but she eagerly headed to the forge where a great sword was heating. He worried for a minute as she pulled the heavy weapon from the fire, sure that she would drop it or at the very least have difficulty maneuvering it to the anvil, but she lifted it easily and laid it down. He looked at the metal glowing orange; this sword had several cracks in it and the blades were dull and saw-toothed from wear. She grabbed a large hammer and began to pound the blade with a strength that defied her small frame, and with accuracy and precision that amazed even the great swordsman. After a while she stopped to inspect the blade, then picked it up once again and cooled it in a water bath. "Take a look," she said, holding the sword straight up in front of her, smiling and pleased with her own work.

Zoro approached and studied the blade; indeed, the repair easily the same caliber as the weapons in the front of the shop, if not better. He focused his gaze on her face; when she noticed that he was looking at her and not the sword she blushed and shrunk backwards. His face was familiar to her, but she couldn't quite figure out why in the dim light of the workshop. "If you want, you certainly can wait for my master to return, if my work isn't satisfactory," she said sheepishly, frantically avoiding eye contact.

"No, your work is excellent," he said quickly. "I apologize, I hope I didn't insult you earlier. You just don't look like much of a smith is all. What's your name?"

She looked quite surprised that he would care about such a thing. "I-Iris," she answered hesitantly. He smiled at her, then handed her his prized possessions.

"I hope you don't mind, but I'll be staying while you work on those," he said. "Nothing personal, but this town's pretty rough."

She smiled knowingly. "Yeah, you could say that," she said, drawing the Wado Ichimonji from its sheath first. "Sharpening and cleaning?"

"Yeah. Could you take a look at the hilts as well? They've seen a lot of action, I want to make sure everything's still tight and balanced."

She nodded and picked up a rough file to smooth out the Wado's edge first. He watched carefully as she inspected the construction of the hilt, guard, and pommel. She took delicate care to clean out dried blood even he had missed around the grip and the guard, then repeated the same process with the Shusui and the Kitetsu. Zoro was unsure how long it took as he was engrossed in watching her work. He could tell from the first moment he saw her that she was passionate about weaponry; her conscientiousness in the care of his swords only confirmed how much she loved her work. "There, how do they look to you?" she asked, face glowing with joy from practicing her craft.

He looked closely at each blade in turn; it really was some of the finest work he'd even seen. "Yes, this is great. Thank you," he smiled warmly at her. She averted her eyes once again, but her smile was wide and radiant. She appreciated his praise, but still couldn't quite place his face in her memory. She wasn't able to get a good look at him in the workshop; it was so dusty and poorly lit. He was paying for her work in the front of the shop when the door slammed open.

"Iris!" a greasy, stout man hollered as he entered carrying a large bundle of leather and wood. "Oh, hello! Has my Iris been assisting you properly?" he grinned toothily at Zoro, then turned and glared at her.

"Yes, her work was just fine, in fact we were just wrapping up business," he cut in, not liking at all the way the man, whom he could only surmise was Paul, looked at Iris. Her face was downcast now; her master now finished taking care of payment for her work and she began to retreat back towards the workshop.

"Iris, you slug! There's metal out front that needs to be cleaned and stored! Get to it!" he barked at her. She cringed at his voice but turned and headed quickly out the front door. Zoro could see her carrying large bars of various metals around to the back of the building. "Anything else I can help you with today, good sir?" the man oozed congenially.

"Thank you, but that's all I need today," Zoro answered, then nodded his head and quickly left. The man was a sleaze and Zoro found himself irritated that someone of his type had such a kind young woman in his possession. He thought briefly on the possibility of being able to do something for her. His stomach rumbled; it was late in the afternoon and he hurried back to the main harbor to find his crew members and get some dinner. Iris watched him as he left; it had been such a nice afternoon. Her only joy in life was her work; everything else was awful. Paul ordered her around, abused her, and sold her for her company. The green-haired swordsman had been so kind to her, and he was passionate about his swords, and he appreciated and respected her work. Such a bright but brief ray of sunshine in her otherwise dismal world only served to make everything else that much darker. _I didn't even ask him his name,_ she thought miserably, tears blurring her vision as she sorted and stored the various materials Paul had brought back from the market.

"Iris," Paul called out to her, "Come in here for a bit," he threw a sleazy smile in her direction. Her stomach turned, why couldn't he have taken just a little more time at the market so she could have just gone to her second 'job' instead of having to spend time with this disgusting creature? She gritted her teeth and fought her worsening tears back as she strode in behind him. "You've got a little time before you head downtown for the evening. Seems like you worked hard this afternoon, why don't I help you relax for a little bit?" he chuckled sinisterly to himself as he slid an arm around her shoulder. She closed her eyes, imagining that she was somewhere else, anywhere. And with someone else. But not just anyone else today; her memory immediately called up the green-haired swordsman with matching green eyes and a killer smile from that afternoon.


	2. Chapter 2

Sanji leaned against the bar surveying the landscape in front of him, sipping at his martini. _This place doesn't have a reputation for its night life for nothing,_ he thought. _So many beautiful women!_ He didn't know who to start flirting with; there were too many choices, so for the moment he was just enjoying the view. Just then his eyes landed on a red-haired girl with green eyes that had just entered the bar, seemingly shy and mild but seductively dressed in a forest green corset that laced up the front and a tight skirt of the same color with slits in the sides up to her hips. Her hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders, accentuated by a gold chain necklace with matching earrings and armbands. _That's the one_ , he thought, smiling to himself and approaching her.

"Hello, there, little lady. Can I buy you a drink?"

She smiled bashfully and a light blush flushed her cheeks. "Sure, what's your name?"

"Oh heavens, where are my manners? My name is Sanji, princess, may I ask yours?" he answered, taking her hand and kissing it gently. His name sounded vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't place it from where.

She giggled at his formalities and smiled once again as he escorted her to the bar. "I'm Iris," she chuckled, wondering if he was always like this or if he had already had a few drinks this evening. Either way, he seemed like a perfect target for her tonight.

She let him order her an amaretto sour, and wished she could listen to him without worry as he regaled her with tales of sailing on the high seas. _A pirate, huh?_ she thought in admiration, day dreaming about what it would be like to sail with him and his crew. She noticed Paul settling in at a table upstairs, eyeing her to ensure she was actually working someone over rather than just partying. If she were anywhere else and not under his watchful eye she thought she might have actually been able to enjoy Sanji's company, but right now she was too focused on the business at hand out of fear of Paul's wrath. She had a few drinks with this Sanji, danced with him a little, and flirted with him, before finally laying it out for him. "You know, my time's not cheap. You're gonna have to show me that you've got more to offer a girl than just a fun evening out," she said, batting her eyes and pressing herself up against him.

Sanji hesitated; was she insinuating what he thought she was? "I can offer you only my good company and affection, my love," he answered sweetly, knowing that her response would confirm whether or not she was a lady of the evening or genuinely interested in him. Over her shoulder, he saw a head of green hair enter, confusion on his face at being lost once again. _Just my luck,_ he thought. "Excuse me a moment, my dear," he said, already hating the loss of her arms around him as he approached the swordsman at the door. "Zoro, what are you doing here? Weren't you looking for a blacksmith?"

Iris watched Sanji walk over to someone; she observed that it was the green-haired swordsman from this afternoon. _Oh no,_ she thought, as her heart sank. She had honestly enjoyed the swordsman's company earlier; she most definitely didn't want him to see her like this, picking up men for money in a bar. "Iris?" Zoro's deep voice pulled her out of her daze as the two returned to her at the bar. Sanji looked at him with a furrowed brow of confusion.

Sanji and a green-haired swordsman; why did this pair together seem so familiar to her? Up to this point, she had, out of necessity, focused more on enticing Sanji for a deal rather than spending energy on figuring out from where she knew him, but her unsettled recognition of both of them gnawed at her. The answer crept up on her as if through a thick fog before finally dawning. "You two aren't… Black Leg Sanji and Pirate Hunter Zoro, are you?" she asked with dread lacing her voice.

"The very same, didn't you recognize me?" Sanji asked with a disappointed whine.

Fierce red flashed across her face; she felt completely humiliated. How in God's name had she not recognized Zoro? Had it really been that dark in the workshop this afternoon? She only kept a copy of his wanted poster under her pillow at night. She had only dreamt about meeting the famous Pirate Hunter since she had first heard of the Straw Hats. And why did Sanji's name not ring a bell in her head when he first introduced himself? Was her discomfort at working in the bar that distracting? She and her older sister, Ivy, had bickered at length over who they wanted to meet more, Sanji or Zoro; Iris voting for Zoro and Ivy for Sanji, but in truth, they both would have given their left arms to meet either of them.

"I… I have to go," she said, ducking into the crowd before Sanji could protest and dashing up the stairs to Paul. Zoro watched in confusion after her.

"You know her?" Sanji asked curiously.

"Yeah, she's the blacksmith who cleaned my swords this afternoon. But she's a slave, what's she doing here?"

Sanji put it together now; no wonder she hadn't seemed as fake as other working women he had met, she hadn't wanted to be here doing what she was doing in the first place. "It's a damn shame. Her owner has her working nights on the side," he said quietly, taking a drag off his cigarette. Zoro looked up to the second level; she and Paul appeared to be having some sort of argument.

"Working nights?"

"Idiot moss-head. He's selling her here."

Zoro's eyes widened in anger, then looked back up at her and Paul, his heart going out to her once again. Not only was such a kind, earnest girl owned by a pig, but he had the audacity to use her for such a purpose. "No doubt he's using her for his own personal pleasure at home, too," Sanji said though gritted teeth, clearly as disgusted by her situation as Zoro was. "Well, shall we go then?" he asked Zoro before striding across the club and heading towards the stairs. Zoro smiled; sometimes the idiot love-cook wasn't so bad.

As they approached the pair, they overheard her pleading with him. "Please, Paul, don't make me do this tonight. Or take me somewhere else, just something away from them. I don't want them to see me… doing this," she said brokenly, through tears, which only fueled the two's desire to protect her from this even more, at the very least for just tonight.

Paul gave them a slimy smile as he noticed the two approach. "Looks like they want to see you, though," he said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation of a deal. She whipped around, eyes wide with terror.

"Well, you're right about that," Zoro answered. "But we're not paying you for her. She's just coming with us."

Paul looked at Zoro, then at Sanji, then laughed. "Oh, you guys are a couple of jokers, aren't you? Come on, sit down and let's talk business," he chortled.

Sanji answered next. "No, there's no business to discuss. She's a human being who wants to spend time with us, and she'll do just that."

Panic began to grip Iris's heart; what were these two doing?! "Please, don't," she pleaded, getting between Paul and the two men to stop them. "Don't make a scene here. Just go. You'll only make things worse for me," she said, with despair in her eyes. Sanji met her panicked but despondent expression and held it for a long while before looking away and putting his cigarette out. Then he pulled out his wallet.

"How much?" he asked tersely.

"Excuse me?" Paul was taken aback by the sudden change in events.

"I'm asking how much to take her with us for the night," he said, fire filling his eyes that he was even stooping to this. But he couldn't bear the thought of their actions getting her into trouble.

Paul grinned, "How much is she worth to you?"

Iris heard a metallic clink; she saw Zoro's hands on the hilts of his swords, ready to draw and fight. "Don't!" she turned to him and placed a hesitant hand on his arm, tears in her eyes that she had to beg this of someone whom she had admired for so long. He stopped at her insistence, seeing the pain in her eyes, and then took Sanji's lead; putting his own pride aside as the chef took care of the transaction.

"I'll give you 250,000 berries for her company tonight, and that's non-negotiable," Sanji spat, slamming the money down on the table in front of Paul. He turned to go, wrapping his arm around Iris's waist as they exited the club. She looked back nervously at Paul; it seemed he wanted to argue, but was also afraid for his own safety; these two were Straw Hats, after all. _250,000 berries should be more than enough,_ Iris thought. _Things should be okay now; they won't have to get into any trouble because of me._

Sanji dropped his arm back to his side after they left the club, and the three walked in silence for a long while before Iris spoke. "Thank you," she mumbled, staring at the ground in front of her. "What do you want me to do for you tonight?" she asked, closing her eyes and hating that she was obligated ask.

Sanji and Zoro both stopped and she didn't notice at first. She was a few steps ahead before she turned and looked back at them. "Nothing," Sanji said, lighting up another cigarette. "If you want to spend the evening with us, then stay. If you don't, then go home." She stared at them incredulously, but neither man met her gaze.

 _What I want?_ What was that even? No one had asked or cared about such a thing before; the entire concept bewildered her. "I… do I not meet your needs?" she asked, wondering still what it was they wanted from her. They both looked at her long and hard after this question, making her feel very uncomfortable and unsatisfactory. "If you don't want me to serve you in some way, then why did you pay for me?" Tears filled her eyes; partly due to the humiliation that she had been rented to two men she admired deeply, and even more so that she felt she did not meet their standards.

"You didn't want us to make a scene. So instead of throwing Paul off the balcony, we paid him instead. At least you have one evening away from slavery to him then," Zoro answered. Iris felt guilty but she wasn't sure why; either it was the fact that she had made them waste money on such a silly thing or that she genuinely wished they had actually thrown Paul over the balcony.

"Ahem, _I_ paid him. But we're not such lowlifes that we'd normally pay for a woman's company," Sanji said. "Besides, do you really think I need to, with a face like this?" he said, a suave smile forming around his cigarette, causing Iris to smile just a little as well. "So what do you want to do, spend the evening with us or go home?"

Iris wondered if it was really safe to feel emotions around these two, and even more so if she could be honest about she felt with them. "If you wish, I'll spend the evening with you two," she said quietly but hopefully, expression dropping to the ground once again.

The two men smiled and, noticing the sun sitting low on the horizon, Sanji took her arm in his, and nodded at Zoro to do the same with her other arm. "Then let's head to the ship and see what the rest of our crew is up to," he suggested, a wide grin spreading across his face, lighting up Iris's eyes. She glanced at Zoro, who also looked pleased, and she thought she'd never been so excited in her entire life. She was actually going to meet the Straw Hats!


	3. Chapter 3

"Is that the Thousand Sunny?!" Iris exclaimed, taking in the sight of the ship with the lion's head floating in the harbor.

"The one and only," Zoro answered, grinning at her innocent excitement. Away from Paul, she was a completely different person; happy, carefree, and beautiful. The woman he saw now was a far cry from the trembling wreck he had seen in the club, pleading with him and Sanji not to cause a scene and get her into trouble. She ran up to the ship, studying every detail with wonder, then looked back at them eagerly as they approached. "Go on, let's go up and you can meet everyone," he encouraged with a smile.

"I wonder if Luffy found enough food in this town or if he's going to want me to make a snack," Sanji worried aloud as they walked up the gangplank. The trio could already hear yells and cries of delirious chaos coming from the galley. Sanji opened up the door and Iris took in the sight.

A red-head was pounding on the head of a black-haired boy with a straw hat; _Nami and Luffy_ , she thought. A curly-haired man and a cyborg sat at the table as well excitedly gushing over several unidentifiable gadgets; _that's Usopp and Franky,_ she smiled. A reindeer stood on a stool by the counter, grinding something with a mortar and pestle; _Chopper!_ she thought in amazement. At the other end of the table sat a woman with long black hair, reading through all the noise, although for the life of her Iris couldn't imagine how; _Robin_. A skeleton played a merry tune on the couch, a fitting melody for the energy and excitement in the room; _and that's Brook_. Luffy finally noticed the three at the door. "Sanji! Nami won't let me have a snack! Can you open the fridge for me?"

Iris looked at Sanji curiously. "The fridge is locked, for reasons you'll learn soon enough," he said, walking across the galley. "Sit!" he commanded Luffy. "Stay… good Luffy," he grinned as the straw hat sat with limited patience at the table while the cook opened the fridge. Nami stifled a laugh under her breath. Luffy turned back to the door.

"Zoro, who's your friend?" Luffy asked with animated curiosity.

All eyes turned towards the door and landed on the auburn haired woman standing at Zoro's side. Iris felt as if she were going to melt; she had never been the center of attention, and she had held the Straw Hats in such high regard that having them scrutinize her all at once was uncomfortable, to say the least. "This is Iris. She's the blacksmith I found to clean my swords this afternoon. She wanted to meet the Straw Hats," he said, looking back at her to let her know that he would let her decide whether or not to tell the rest of the crew that she was a slave.

All at once questions were bombarded on her; asking what it was like growing up on this island, where she learned blacksmithing, what her favorite foods, color, season were, if she could fight, if she'd met any other pirates, and on and on. "Whoa, whoa, one at a time!" she exclaimed, radiating happiness that they were all so interested in her.

"Come! Sit! Sit! Tell us about yourself," Luffy said, patting a chair enthusiastically next to him. She readily joined the crew at the table and they swapped stories about adventures; she told them about the weapons she had crafted for notorious criminals that had passed through Liberty Island and they shared stories of the battles they had against some of them. She chose not to tell them about her enslavement; the evening was fun, no need to ruin it with such a disheartening fact. Zoro relaxed on the couch with his feet propped up on an open chair; he was glad that he and Sanji had been able to give her such an enjoyable evening. She fit in so well with the crew; one would never have guessed that she had just met them all that evening. Eventually, crew members retired to their cabins one by one, even Luffy got tired and headed to bed, leaving just Iris, Sanji, and Zoro in the kitchen. Sanji sipped at a glass of wine at the table while Zoro watched Iris curiously from the couch; she seemed to be deep in thought now that the crew was gone.

"Thank you," she finally said, quietly. "Thank you, both of you. I haven't had this much fun since… well, ever," she added, dropping her eyes to the table. Her breathing became shallow and erratic; the two men realized she was crying. She felt their eyes on her out of concern and she quickly wiped her face before raising her head to look at them again. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to worry you. This evening really was wonderful." She got up to leave, but was stopped when she reached the door handle.

"Where are you going?" Sanji asked quietly, without turning to look at her and taking another sip of his wine.

She turned back in confusion. "Um, back to where I live, I guess?" she answered uncertainly.

"I paid for the night. You're staying here," he answered in a low voice, placing the wine glass back on the table.

She blushed; she hadn't realized that he had indeed expected that. "Oi, cook," Zoro growled and furrowed his brow at him, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I didn't say she was staying with _me,_ I meant on the Sunny. You can have my room, I'll sleep on the couch here in the galley," he clarified.

She felt a wave of relief wash over her, but anxiety still stirred in her chest. "That's alright; I'd feel very strange staying in your room," she said, the hint of a blush still gracing her cheeks. "I'll take the couch, if that's alright with you."

Sanji finished his wine and lit up a cigarette, eyeing her closely. "If that's what you want," he said finally. "Come on moss-head, we should get to bed, too. No doubt tomorrow will be another busy day. Goodnight, Iris, sleep well." Zoro nodded in her direction as well, and she returned a warm smile. With that, both cook and swordsman exited the kitchen as they turned off the lights. Iris sat down on the couch and cried in earnest. She had truly enjoyed the evening; if any of the other Straw Hats had guessed that she was a slave, they hadn't let on, and had treated her not just as a guest but as one of their own. Not in her entire life had anyone treated her so warmly, so kindly, and with such equality as these pirates had. She wanted it to last forever, but she knew that when the sun rose tomorrow morning, she would have to return to her everyday life of Paul and slavery. She wiped her eyes once again and laid down on the couch, quickly falling into a sound slumber.

Iris was awoken by a shuffling across the kitchen floor; something or someone was creeping through the galley, she could see its shadow as she glanced under the table. She rolled over, now facing the back of the couch, hoping that whoever or whatever it was wouldn't notice her presence there. Her breathing sped up and she was shaking a little; she was surprised that the fear of the unknown was worse than the fear she experienced on a nightly basis back at the workshop. She squeezed her eyes shut, pretending that she was somewhere else once again but she could still hear someone fumbling around in the darkness by the fridge. The figure mumbled unintelligibly to itself; it seemed to be growing impatient. A swift kick to the fridge caused Iris to jump and shriek in surprise and her fear grew into full blown terror knowing that there was no possible way the shadow hadn't noticed her there now. Iris sat straight up on the couch as the door slammed open and the lights glared brightly in the galley.

"Luffy, what the hell are you doing up here? Go back to bed, dammit!" Sanji barked angrily across the galley, catching his captain red-handed trying to break into the fridge. Iris looked at the scene in front of her. Luffy slumped next to the fridge, like a child being scolded for stealing from the cookie jar. Sanji stood in the doorway, arms crossed and clad only in a pair of sweatpants, resembling a father chastising his child for something stupid.

"But… Saaaanjiiiiii, I just wanted a little midnight snack…" Luffy whined.

"Out!" Sanji yelled, chasing him out of the kitchen and slamming the door behind him. He glanced in the direction of Iris, who was still shaking and confused as to what just happened. He offered her a small smile as he sat down in a chair directly across from her. "Now you know why the fridge is locked," he chuckled, lighting up a cigarette. The door opened once again; this time a shirtless Zoro entered the galley.

"I heard noise. Everything okay up here?"

"Yeah. Just Luffy, as usual," Sanji answered. "Iris, are you alright? You're shaking like a leaf."

Iris pulled her knees up into herself and wiggled her toes into the couch. "Yeah, just got a little spooked by someone sneaking into the kitchen in the middle of the night. It's nothing, really. I'm fine, really," she lied weakly, but the discomfort of someone being so concerned about her anxieties was almost worse than the anxiety itself. Sanji watched her for a moment.

"He'll try sneaking in here again. If I had known that would scare you so much, I'd have insisted that you take my room," he stated. "Why don't we switch?"

"No, it's fine," Iris reassured, not convincing him that she really was okay but still incredibly leery of sleeping in Sanji's room, even if it was by herself.

Sanji sighed. "Then you leave me no choice. I'm staying here in the kitchen so you don't get scared again. Don't worry, I'll just stay here at the table. The couch is all yours," he said with a chivalrous smile.

Iris blushed. "Honestly, that makes me more uncomfortable than the idea of Luffy sneaking in here again," she said. "I know you mean well, but…" she hesitated, hating how she felt but it was how she felt none the less, "…I don't trust you. I don't trust anyone. I can't," she said, swallowing the pain that gripped her chest.

Zoro couldn't help but feel sympathy for the poor woman; had no one ever shown her kindness in her entire life? He plopped down into a chair next to Sanji. "Then how about this? He'll keep an eye on you, and I'll keep an eye on him keeping an eye on you. And I'll keep an eye on you, too, and he'll keep an eye on me keeping an eye on you. That way you don't have to trust either of us, right?"

A warm, broad smile broke across Iris's face; the logic was flawed but it was touching none the less. "Yeah, that works," she said, a shy smile crossing her face as she met his gaze for once and lost herself in the deep green pools of Zoro's eyes. He smiled back at her, then tilted the chair back to shut the door and turn the lights back off, and the three of them settled down in the galley to sleep.

Iris couldn't deny it, she couldn't sleep well now; the adrenaline from earlier keeping her up. She tossed and turned for a while before finally giving up and watching Zoro sleep. His head was hanging back off the chair; she wondered how it was possible for him to keep the chair tilted up and feet balanced on the table as he slept so soundly. She looked next at Sanji, who had opted to rest his head back on the table and propped his feet up on the opposite armrest of the couch. She stopped and marveled at how long his legs were. She thought of all the stories she'd heard of the Straw Hats' adventures; she knew that he, Zoro, and Luffy were the strongest members of the Straw Hats. Sanji's kicks could take down platoons of marines, sink ships, and crush stone. She rested a hand on his shin, musing at how strong he must be; absently, she thought it wouldn't have been so bad if he had expected her to spend the night with him.

"Enjoying yourself?" a quiet voice split the silence.

Iris jerked her hand back and quickly turned her head; Sanji had an amused expression on his face and humor laced his voice. "I… uh… um… I can't sleep," Iris stuttered. "I just can't relax at all, not after Luffy snuck in here," she said miserably.

"So you watch me sleep when you can't? What were you thinking?" he said mischievously, leaning off his chair towards her on the couch. Iris could feel her face heat up and her heart beat more quickly; she enjoyed his proximity but it also made her uncomfortably nervous. Sensing her internal conflict, he pulled back away from her and studied her face for a moment. "I want to help you relax and get some sleep. Can I sit next to you on the couch?" Sanji asked plainly, no playfulness in his voice now.

Iris nodded and the blond chef sat next to her. "Turn your back to me," he told her. She crossed her legs and turned away from him, wondering what he was going to try to do. Anxiety began to swell again; she couldn't help it, every time she didn't know what was going to happen next, it always ended up being something painful. She felt his hands on her shoulders and he started to knead the muscles in her shoulders, back, and neck. She tensed at first, questioning his motives, but the sensation of his fingertips massaging her chronically knotted muscles quickly lowered her guard and she soon felt her eyelids grow heavy, then the rest of her body. Before she knew it, she had slumped backwards into his arms, fast asleep. Sanji smoothed her hair out her face and watched the red-head sleeping in his arms with sadness; admiring her beauty, and thinking of how much he wanted to save her from her prison here on this island more than anything. He also wondered how many other people lived here in the same conditions or worse. He couldn't save them all; but maybe the Straw Hats together could.


	4. Chapter 4

"Oi, what the hell do you think you're doing?" a gruff voice questioned in the morning light.

Iris opened her eyes, intimidated by the sight of Zoro towering over her but something else felt odd. What was she resting on? And it didn't feel like she was covered with a blanket anymore, but she was warm none the less. She turned her head and realized there was someone next to her, no, _underneath_ her on the couch. She sat up quickly, now wide awake, only to discover that instead of a blanket around her, there were a pair of arms, and instead of a pillow, her own head rested on Sanji's chest. Gradually, she remembered waking him up in the middle of the night accidentally and his offering of a back massage. Crimson colored her cheeks as she realized she must have fallen asleep while he rubbed her shoulders. Her sudden movement stirred him awake as well, and he was squinting at the tall figure standing over the couch that had accusation written all over his face.

"Oi, love cook, I asked you a question," Zoro's low voice growled once again in Sanji's direction.

"Oh, Zoro, you're awake. Iris couldn't sleep, so I offered to help her relax. You must have been really tired," he said, looking in her direction with an innocent but adoring smile.

Zoro's eyes grew wide with some sort of anger, but it didn't seem to be his usual irritation with Sanji. He turned and stormed out of the galley, slamming the door behind him. "Geez, what's his problem?" the chef muttered, getting up off the couch. "I'm going to go clean up and get breakfast started. You can wait here or stroll around deck. Make yourself at home," he said brightly as he, too, got up and left.

Iris sat bewildered on the couch after both men had left. She knew what Zoro's anger looked like, but she couldn't believe that someone would ever feel like that about her, least of all Zoro the Pirate Hunter. _Was he really jealous?_ she pondered. _No, that's just wishful thinking. Just enjoy the time you have left here._ She hugged her knees into herself once again; the absence of Sanji's warmth next to her leaving her feeling cold and alone.

Breakfast was as eventful as ever on the Thousand Sunny; Iris found her anxiety vanishing once again as the Straw Hats engaged in their usual shenanigans and pranks. Zoro and Sanji both couldn't help the satisfaction they felt seeing Iris laugh at the goofiness of their crew; she was truly enjoying the time she had here. Much too quickly, breakfast was over, however, and it was time for Iris to return to the workshop.

She bid the Straw Hats farewell, and Zoro and Sanji insisted on walking her back to the industrial district. The three walked in silence the entire way there, all of them feeling uncomfortable with their time together ending. At the end of her block she stopped and turned to them. "Thank you both, once again. I can't tell you how much this night meant to me," she said, looking at both of them and attempting to hide the tears in her eyes, but it was useless at this point; her emotion was visible on her face, in her voice, and her presence.

Both looked long and hard back at her. "Nope," Zoro said finally, crossing his arms. "I'm not okay with this. I'm not leaving you here with Paul."

"Oh, thank God, I thought you'd never say anything," Sanji quickly followed. "You wouldn't take me seriously if I said something, would you?" Zoro only scowled in his direction.

Iris looked back at them blankly. "Wait, what? What are you thinking of doing? Paul will never sell me, not with what he makes from my blacksmithing skill, and, well, my other work," she mumbled, a light blush blossoming onto her cheeks in shame.

A smirk crossed Zoro's face. "We're pirates, we just take something if we want it. Sail out with us, you don't belong here chained up," he invited, eyes warm and excited, genuinely hoping she'd accept.

Iris's tears spilled over; she was so touched by his invitation to come with the Straw Hats, and she wanted so very much to say yes. "I… can't," she said brokenly.

"Why not?" Sanji asked, his visible eyebrow raised skeptically. "You have something worth staying here for?"

She choked back her sobs, feeling nauseated that she had to explain it to them. "This island may be known for its tourism, but its main industry is the slave trade. There's a main business center that exclusively manages the slaves. These cuffs have a tracking device in them. If I leave this island, or if Paul thinks I'm trying to run away, he can activate a fifteen minute timer. If I don't make it back to him in those fifteen minutes so he can deactivate it with his key, the cuffs will deliver a lethal electrical shock. So, I literally can't leave this island," she finished, wrapping her arms around herself, and now struggling even more so to hide the fact that she was shaking from disappointment and tears.

"So we just need to get the armbands off, then, right?" Sanji took her wrist and began to inspect it, only to discover that it had long ago been fused into her skin.

"Not as easy as you'd think, right?" she joked cynically. "Besides, if they're tampered with, they'll deliver the shock instantly. The only people who have ever even gotten close to escaping have cut their own arms off. But you can imagine they don't live very long after that," she added grimly, and then noticed their furrowed brows and disheartened faces. She brushed her tears from her face and took several deep, calming breaths. "I don't want you to worry about it, and I don't want you try to help me anymore. You'll only get yourselves in trouble. The only power on this island is money; and the business center has hundreds of millions of it, all of it in their vault. There's no sense in you all getting yourselves mixed up in all that. You've already given me more than I could have ever asked for. So thank you, and enjoy your adventures. I look forward to reading about them in the papers," she smiled at them warmly and genuinely, eyes finally dry, if still a bit red from her frequent tears.

Zoro studied her eyes intently; how could she stand there and be so happy to wish them well when she was returning to such a nightmare? Sanji's voice broke his into his thoughts. "Here's what we'll do. Zoro, take her back to the workshop so that idiot Paul doesn't think she's run away. I'm going to go get Usopp or Franky and have them take a look at these cuffs, and see if they can figure anything out with them. Don't let her out of your sight, alright?"

Zoro nodded; they were going to figure this out, and help her be free of this island. Iris looked back and forth between them with growing worry; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was impossible to be free of the armbands; what did they really think they were going to be able to do? Even worse, didn't they understand what they'd be getting themselves into if they tried to do anything more? Zoro looked back at her as Sanji took off briskly back towards the harbor. "Come on, I'll look out for you while we wait for them to get back," he said protectively. She could only follow him, dazed in disbelief and panicked that they weren't listening to her, back to the workshop where Paul was waiting impatiently.

"Iris! So glad you could make it back," he said sarcastically. "You bastards. I ought to charge you for another night for keeping her so long." Zoro gritted his teeth, using every ounce of self-control he had not to slug the greasy pig right in the nose.

"She's back and in good shape. So shut the hell up," Zoro snarled at him, then crossed his arms and leaned against the workshop. Paul just stared at him with irritated curiosity.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Zoro smirked smugly. "We're not done here. Sanji'll be coming back. And when he does, we're taking Iris with us." Her eyes grew wide at the arrogance and determination reflecting in his eyes, hysteria paralyzing her once again and threatening to strangle her.

Paul scoffed. "She's told you about how these cuffs work, right? How do you plan on getting her off this island alive?"

"We're pirates. We'll figure it out."

Paul and Zoro stared at each other, attempting to intimidate each other and neither giving up an inch, until Paul smirked as a disgusting idea came to his mind after several minutes; he turned suddenly and hit Iris square in the jaw. Zoro's hand flew to his swords and had the Wado at Paul's throat, stopping only at Iris's panicked cry. "DON'T!"

Zoro gritted his teeth and looked with primal, infuriated eyes from the trembling excuse for a man to Iris lying on the ground, bruising and swelling already appearing on her jawline, and blood dripping from the corner of her mouth where her cheek had been split open on the inside. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't remove his head from his shoulders right now," he growled.

"You think the violence will stop with him? If he dies, I just go back on the market. Reclaimed by the slave trade. It never ends, Zoro," she said sorrowfully. "So just stop now. It'll only make things worse. For you and for me."

Zoro hesitated, considering the options, then withdrew the Wado and sheathed it. Paul gave him a smug grin, then turned and kicked Iris hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She buckled over, coughing and fighting to catch her breath, eyes wide in shock and face in the dirty street. Zoro started forward again until he heard Iris's voice croak, "Don't… Zoro… let me be." Paul roared with laughter at her pain and Zoro's humiliation that Iris wouldn't let him help her.

Paul continued his abuse of Iris, and there was not a single point that she would allow Zoro to intervene. Even more repulsive, not a single other person in the industrial district attempted to help, or even really noticed that Paul was beating her mercilessly in the middle of the street; apparently, such violence towards one's slave was commonplace and acceptable here. It seemed the slob would never get enough of watching her blood spill, or hearing her cries of pain. At long last, he grabbed her by the hair and dragged her over to the curb, dropping her face first on it. She turned and looked at Zoro, cheek resting against the curb and eyes locked on his, warning him one last time before Paul's heavy boot crashed down onto her head, "Don't…"

Zoro could only watch in horror, every muscle taut from the effort of obeying her pleas, as he heard the crack of her skull splitting, then saw blood begin to pour out of her cheek that was now ground into the curb. Paul continued to roar with laughter, finally satisfied with the pain he had inflicted on the woman. "You're really the cause of this, since you won't just leave her well enough alone. So you take care of her medical expenses. Just remember, though, you can't take her off the island. And I want her back before nightfall. Bring another 250,000 for the trouble." He disappeared into the workshop, still laughing in victory.

Zoro rushed over to her and gently lifted her off the ground, cradling her next to his chest. She was still breathing; dear God, she was even still conscious. "Why?" he said. "Why wouldn't you let me help you? Why would you take that? He could've killed you," he whispered, his voice shaking, whether from anger or fear, Iris couldn't tell.

"You think I couldn't fight him if I wanted to?" she choked out, eyes closed and having to concentrate far too much on taking in short, shallow breaths. "I won't die. I swear I won't burden anyone by dying; leaving them to regret and wish they had done something more. So don't worry about me, Zoro," she breathed out with great difficulty, then losing consciousness finally from pain and blood loss. Zoro held her close; why, even with all these injuries and abuse, was she still worrying about the scars others might carry?

"Zoro! Goddammit, what the hell happened? Why didn't you protect her?" Sanji rushed up with Franky.

He turned dark eyes towards Sanji. "She wouldn't let me. She doesn't want to burden us with her pain," Zoro answered quietly, his eyes growing even darker with fury and determination. "Sanji, we've got to destroy these bastards and find a way to get her out of here," he said, voice tense and shaking with rage; Sanji and Franky nodded in agreement.

"She needs to see Chopper first, though," Franky said quietly and cautiously. Zoro forced himself to gain a minimal amount of composure as he stood up, gathering her even closer to him in his arms. The three then headed back towards the harbor; Iris visiting the Straw Hats a second time in less than twenty-four hours.


	5. Chapter 5

"Zoro! Sanji! Oh, my God," Chopper cried, seeing the broken form of Iris lying in Zoro's arms. "What happened to her?" he asked gloomily.

"Paul. Paul happened to her. All of it, everything that's ever caused her pain, is Paul," Zoro growled through clenched teeth. "Is she going to be alright?"

"Just bring her into the infirmary and let me take a look," he answered worriedly, confused as to who Paul was but not caring much about it at the moment. Zoro did as he was told and laid her carefully on a cot in Chopper's infirmary; the urgency at which Chopper, Zoro, Franky, and Sanji made their way through the ship drawing the attention of the other Straw Hats. Chopper began to examine each and every injury that Iris had sustained, his face growing more concerned with each new discovery.

"She has three cracked ribs, and probably several hairline fractures. It looks like her knee was sprained, and her shoulder was dislocated and then shoved back into position, but it's not lined up right. It's pinching the soft tissue. But the worst is her cheekbone. The right side of her face is completely crushed. It's in so many pieces I don't know how I'll even begin pinning it together, and I'll have to be extra careful; her eye, miraculously, is still intact. So I'll have to make sure not to damage it when I'm surgically reconstructing her face," he explained.

A grim silence hung in the room. "Zoro, Sanji, did her owner do this to her? Is that who Paul is?" Robin asked softly. The two men looked at her, wondering if they should admit that Iris was indeed a slave. "You don't have to tell us, we already know. We knew last night. We saw several slaves and their owners in the shopping district yesterday with the same armbands. She didn't really try to hide them; I imagine she hoped we thought they were just jewelry. She didn't say anything about it, so it wouldn't have been right to ask."

Another heavy pause filled the room before Zoro answered. "Yeah, her owner Paul did this," he said, dropping his expression to the floor. Sanji took on the burden of explaining how her cuffs worked to the remainder of the crew.

"That's barbaric," Usopp said.

"No kidding. Can you take a look at them with Franky and see if there's some way to deactivate the shock part of them? If we can't take them off of her, then we have to break them somehow," Sanji thought out loud.

"No one's breaking anything until I get her put back together! Robin, can you assist me while I prep her for surgery?" Chopper interrupted. Robin nodded, and the two shooed the remaining crew members out.

Robin and Chopper operated on Iris for nearly five hours, before Chopper emerged from the infirmary. "All right, I think I was able to salvage everything. Franky, if you and Usopp want to take a look at the cuffs now, you can. She's still unconscious and probably will be for a while."

Franky, Usopp, Sanji, and Zoro all headed inside; the former two to investigate the cuffs, the latter two simply wishing to watch over her until she woke. The two mechanics precisely and cautiously examined each cuff, being as careful as possible so as not to activate the instant shock or cause her anymore pain. Finally, after quite a long time, Usopp and Franky got up to leave and gestured to the chef and swordsman to follow them. "We'll explain everything with the rest of the crew, and let her rest a little more."

The Straw Hats gathered in the galley, not-so-patiently waiting for an explanation. "So we knew about the basics of the cuffs from Iris herself; there's a fifteen minute timer, there's a GPS, and there's an instant shock mechanism as well. What we didn't know is that the GPS is linked to the main business center for continuous tracking; even worse, it provides long range power for the GPS to continue operating for her entire life. But that's not the worst part," Franky explained, then hesitated before delivering the final demoralizing message. "The worst part is that even if the business center is destroyed, the cuffs are directly wired into her central nervous system, and they can draw power even from her own body. So even without the business center, Paul can still activate the shock mechanism."

The Straw Hats looked horrified, imagining how painful it must have to have those implanted into her skin. Had the rest of the slaves on the island been subjected to the same torture? "There's good news," Usopp broke in. "The instant shock can't activate while the timer is running. So if the timer activates, she doesn't have to worry about the instant shock. We can tamper with the cuffs all we want and we don't have to worry about her getting killed."

"That only gives us fifteen minutes to surgically remove the cuffs and remove all the wiring in her skin! There isn't a doctor in the world who could do that!" Chopper exclaimed. "That's not helpful at all!"

The Straw Hats sat in silence for another long while before Sanji spoke up. "We can't leave her here. In fact, we can't leave any of them here. I get the impression from this island that all the slaves are treated this disposably. I can't walk away from that," he said, Zoro nodding in agreement. "So, where do we want to start tearing this island apart?"

"Hold up," Nami interrupted. "I get that you've become infatuated with this girl, as you do every pretty girl you see, but where's the sense in us getting involved in this? We're not heroes, we're pirates." Usopp shifted uncomfortably, but nodded in agreement along with Brook. "I feel bad for her, but we don't have any way of getting those cuffs off of her. We'll probably just make things worse and get her and ourselves into a bunch of unnecessary trouble," Nami added.

An awkward silence hung in the room, the crew divided on whether to try helping Iris and the other slaves or let it be; altruism wasn't really the specialty of pirates. Zoro broke the silence after several minutes, remembering something Iris had mentioned earlier that he knew would instantly convince Nami to take down the trade center with the rest of the crew. "The slave trade is the main business center on the island. Even bigger than the tourism here. Did you know that, Nami?" The navigator just stared at him in confusion, wondering what relevance this had to anything but intrigued none the less. "There's no government or order on this island, just money. And someone's got to hold all that money. Can you guess where it all might be kept? I'm guessing that place is probably richer than a good sized bank."

Nami's demeanor changed immediately, dollar signs dancing in her eyes; Usopp face palming at how quickly Nami took Zoro's bait. "Well, if that's the case then we can't really just walk away from it, right? What good pirate walks away from a bank full of cash?"

Giggles and smiles began to escape from everyone, until they heard a strange beeping. They followed the curious sound back to the infirmary, and everyone's hopes melted into horror as they discovered that Paul had activated the timer. They heard him laugh through a transmitter in the cuffs, "You've kept her too long! So now you've got fifteen minutes to get her back to me! Or she dies!"

The nine crew members stood frozen in the doorway of the infirmary, minds blank as to what to do next. Chopper and Franky rushed into the infirmary and started to inspect the armbands, but both knew that there was nothing they could do in fifteen minutes.

"AAAHH! What do we do, what do we do?!" Chopper shrieked.

A grim look crossed Zoro's face, his eyes darkened. "Sanji, bring her out to the deck," he asked quietly.

"You have an idea?"

Zoro nodded. "You're not going to like it, though," he said darkly. "But we really don't have any other options."

Sanji looked skeptical but did as he was asked, gathering the still unconscious Iris up carefully and bringing her up to the deck. The other crew members watched on curiously. "Kneel down, hold on to her tight, and hold her hand out for me," Zoro commanded softly. The others would object to this; hell, he even objected to this, but it was either this or watch her be electrocuted right in front his eyes. He took a deep breath, recognizing that her agonizing death was the only image more horrific than what he planned to do now. He drew a sword.

"Hey! What do you think you're going to do?" Sanji exclaimed, alarmed. "You're not going to…"

"I'm going to take the armbands off. Just the armbands."

In Sanji's arms, Iris stirred. "What's going on?" she mumbled sleepily.

 _Oh no, why did she have to wake up now?_ Zoro thought. She was going to be miserable enough when she woke up; he really wished she wouldn't have to experience this while conscious, especially when there was no time to administer an anesthetic.

Sanji looked at Zoro, then took Iris's hand and held her arm out as he held the rest of her tightly against him, now getting the idea of what the swordsman was going to try and do. "Don't cause her any more harm than absolutely necessary," regret filling his voice already for assisting Zoro with this.

Zoro nodded, then slid the tip of his sword under the armband, lifting the metal away from her skin and severing several of the electrical connections in the process. Iris screamed out in pain and attempted to jerk her hand away but Sanji held it firmly in place. Blood began to drip out from the edges of the band.

Cries and shrieks erupted from the other crew members; but Luffy stopped them, seeing the pain on both Sanji's and Zoro's faces as they did the only thing they could think of to free Iris and save her life. "If you can't watch, then go inside," he told them with an incredibly rare expression of seriousness.

Zoro was relieved that his captain understood; this would be hard enough to do without the crew protesting his choice of action. He slid the blade along the inside of the armband, continuing to separate the metal and wiring from Iris's arm until he reached its point of entry once again. With a quick flick of his wrist, he brought the blade up through the armband, ignoring her bloodcurdling screeches as best he could. He and Sanji watched with hope as the device clattered on to the deck, mixed with Iris's blood. But now they saw the damage done to her arm. The skin was completely gone from where the band was clasped around her wrist and remnants of wiring stuck out haphazardly, pulled through muscle tissue, veins and arteries; Zoro had created a gory mess. A steady stream of blood dripped from the severed vessels. The swordsman hesitated; the sight of her arm so mangled and her blood on his sword paralyzing him.

Sanji's voice broke through his shock, "Come on, you've only got four minutes left before the other one sets off," he said as steadily as he could, nauseous himself from the sight of the woman's injuries.

"No…" Iris cried pitifully, "please, no more; please, just leave me alone..."

Zoro kneeled down close to her and whispered into her ear, heart aching that he had to insist on hurting her more but unwilling to watch her die even more so. "Are you going to die on me? That's what will happen if you don't let me cut the other one off, too."

Iris turned her head shakily and looked at him with bleary eyes. "You… could… take me back to Paul…" she gasped through shallow breaths. Zoro's eyes darkened.

"Never again. It's my choice now, and I'm putting an end to this," he voiced with resolve. Sanji took her other shaking hand and held it out to the swordsman. She buried her face into Sanji's jacket, and took a chunk of the fabric in her teeth, not fighting against him this time. Zoro slid his sword under the other armband while she wailed into Sanji's chest; he had to fight off tears brimming in his eyes at causing her so much misery. He repeated the same smooth movements he had used on the other wristband; he was halfway through it when the timer began counting the final seconds: _20… 19… 18…_

Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead; his hand slipped briefly, digging the blade into her wrist, earning him one last excruciating scream before Iris lost consciousness again. He tightened his grip on the sword and finished, bringing the blade around to where he had started. He quickly twisted his wrist once again, dropping the second armband from her wrist with just three seconds remaining on the counter. He and Sanji both let out heavy sighs of relief, now that Iris was free of the damnable things.

Time sped back up to normal as the armbands discharged their electrical shock in the blood on the deck with a sizzle, and they noticed just how much blood was, in fact, pooled there. Zoro glanced at Iris. "She's lost a lot of blood. We need to get her back to Chopper," he said with urgency in his voice. Sanji nodded and they both took off across the deck, both deeply worried about Iris's condition. She had already been in bad shape from Paul's beating, would she be able to survive what they had just put her through on top of that?


	6. Chapter 6

Chopper could only stare at them in horror as the two brought Iris back into him in the infirmary. "Ah… ah…" he stammered. "I JUST PUT HER BACK TOGETHER! Now look what you two have done. Get out! Robin! Usopp! I'll need both of you to assist." It was then that he noticed how pale she was. "She's lost too much blood; you cut her radial arteries, Zoro! Do either of you know what blood type she is?"

They looked blankly back and forth between each other and Chopper, both silenced from the doctor's criticism. "Never mind, Robin, identify this for me quickly while I try to stop the bleeding," the reindeer instructed. Zoro and Sanji sat down in stunned, morbid silence to wait and watch on as well. Within minutes, she returned with an answer: XF. "Good, we have plenty of that."

Zoro held out his arm while Chopper was prepping a bag. "Just transfer it directly, it'll take less time," he said impatiently.

"But I need to know how much I'm taking from you or you'll be anemic too!"

Zoro gritted his teeth. "It doesn't matter, I'm not bleeding to death like she is," he growled. "Now just transfer it directly.

Chopper glared at him, but knew better than to argue and connected the tubing once Zoro's blood was flowing. In the meantime, he prepped Iris for additional surgery while Robin monitored her blood pressure to ensure that it rose as the transfusion progressed. "Zoro, are you feeling dizzy at all?" Chopper asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, how's she doing?"

"Her blood pressure is still only 85/44, doctor," Robin answered.

Chopper watched Zoro closely; he knew that Zoro had donated much more blood than was healthy, although he wasn't quite sure just how much. 85/44 was low but workable. "Alright, that's good enough for now."

"I don't want to hear 'good enough,' I want to hear that her blood pressure's back to normal," Zoro growled.

Chopper narrowed his eyes at him. "You think I can't keep her stable during surgery even if her blood pressure's low? I don't need any more of your blood to make sure she recovers well," he said with irritation.

Zoro returned his stare, wanting to make a witty comeback, but dizziness and nausea clouding his ability to think straight. Before he could argue, Chopper was removing the transfusion tubing and applying a bandage to the mark in his arm. "Sit here for a while, and drink this," he said, holding out a glass of orange juice.

"I'm fine," he mumbled and stood up to go, but only made it a few steps before his vision blacked out and he felt himself falling forward. Sanji caught him before he fell down completely and set him down on a cot next to Iris's.

"I think you ought to listen to Chopper this time," Sanji said, looking at his friend with concern.

"I don't need _you_ worrying about me, of all people," Zoro mumbled once again. Sanji offered him the glass of orange juice again, which the swordsman took after a hesitant moment and drank reluctantly. "This cot's not so bad, though, maybe I'll just take a little nap here for a while," he said. A smirk crossed Sanji's face as he sat back down in a chair, turning his attention back to Chopper, Usopp, and Robin, who were now taking a closer look at Iris's arms.

"Usopp, I need you to help me remove all this wiring. How deep does it go?" Chopper asked.

"It's not wired throughout her entire nervous system, but it is pretty deep into the main nerves in her arm," Usopp explained as Chopper began to poke and prod through the muscles in her arms, hoping he wouldn't have to cut much of her tissue in order to remove it all. Thankfully, it appeared that he would be able to untangle it from her nerves without having to cut much at all. But the process would take an ungodly amount of time, and it would be painstaking work. "If you show me how to do it on that arm, I can start working on her other arm. I can tell this is going to take forever," Usopp offered.

Chopper nodded, and showed him the basics of how to untangle everything. Robin continued to monitor Iris's vital signs for stability and prepared a general anesthesia in case she started to wake up while they worked on her arms. Sanji left to bring them some shakes to help them get through the operation; Nami checked in on them from time to time to see if they needed anything else, and even took over for Robin so she could rest for just a little bit. Usopp and Chopper worked tirelessly for seven straight hours removing all the wiring in her arms, just in time to see the sun start to come up. "Did we really work all night long?" the reindeer asked, unaware of how bloodshot his eyes had grown throughout the night but realizing just how exhausted he was now that he had finally taken a break.

"Looks like it," Usopp said, looking out the porthole at dawn.

"Let's bandage her arms up. She'll most likely need grafts to help this begin to heal, but I can't do anymore right now. The bandages will protect the exposed tissue until I rest and can focus again," Chopper explained as he began to carefully wrap bandages around her arms. "I'll take a nap for an hour or so, then I'll graft her arms. That will be a piece of cake compared to removing this wiring," he said, gesturing to the bowl filled with tangled metal and blood.

Sanji entered once again, this time with breakfast for the doctor and company. "Oh, are you just wrapping up? I'd like to get the crew together so we can start figuring out how to destroy this island."

Zoro sat up, still feeling a little dizzy and took another glass of orange juice from the chef. "Do we really need to talk about it? Let's just start cutting things down," he grumbled.

Sanji scoffed. "You and Luffy, you two idiots. If we barge in without a plan, who's to say that the other owners on this island won't set off all the timers on their slaves? And even if they don't, do you really think your method of freeing them is the best one we can come up with when we've got more than fifteen minutes?"

Zoro scowled, not appreciating the reminder of all the suffering he had caused Iris yesterday and having no good answer for Sanji. Robin cut the tension in the air first. "Then let's all head upstairs and start to formulate a plan. We should bring Iris with us, that way we can keep direct watch over her while we figure things out." Zoro nodded, quickly gathering Iris up once again, glowering at Sanji who looked hurt that he wasn't the one to protect and watch over her. The chef had to resign himself to tagging along behind them after laying Iris's arms gently over her stomach to guard them from too much movement as the swordsman carried her up to the galley where the other Straw Hats waited.

The crew spent a good deal of time debating the best plan of action for how to free the slaves from the island; most of the debate consisted of tempering several crew members' enthusiasm towards bursting in guns blazing without any plan. Zoro sat quietly with Iris resting across his lap on the couch as the others decided on their plan, unable to contribute to the conversation much when he was so worried about Iris's condition. By midmorning, the Straw Hats had it figured out more or less, and Iris began to stir. Zoro laid her down gently on the couch and left the galley, expression grim as he did so. The others watched him curiously; he had been so concerned about her recovery, why wouldn't he want to be there when she woke up? Sanji lit up a cigarette and closed his eyes, a realization dawning on him. Iris hadn't asked for their help; in fact, she had tried to stop them at every turn since they had met her. The ways in which they had tried to help her had only caused her a colossal amount of pain and trouble.

Iris sat up slowly on the couch, groggy and wincing from all her injuries. She looked around the room at the Straw Hats, who watched and waited for her to speak. It took a few minutes for her mind to register where she was and why she was there. Her eyes began to focus better as she recalled the most recent events, and she pulled an arm back and slapped Sanji across the face as hard as she could, tears filling her eyes. The crew immediately began to throw shouts and protests in her direction, but grew silent and morosely curious when Sanji remained where he was sitting, even letting the cigarette that had flown from his lips extinguish itself on the ground. They only watched Iris with shocked expressions when she ignored them all and stood up unsteadily, her painful and angry tears streaming down her face as she yelled, "Where is he?!"

She didn't wait for an answer before she hobbled to the door and threw it open to see Zoro standing at the fore of the deck, arms crossed and blankly looking out over the city, turning his head only slightly as she exited the galley. She continued her unsteady but determined march in his direction until she stumbled on the stairs. He dashed back across the deck to help her back to her feet; concern that she had been hurt once again plain on his face. "You bastard!" she screamed at him as she slapped him hard across the face as well, then began to pound on his chest with tightened fists. "What the hell were you thinking?! I didn't ask for your help, I didn't need your help! I didn't want you to risk your life trying to free me from those things! What would have happened if you hadn't finished getting them off in time? You'd have died! And Sanji would have too! And now you've angered the trade center and they're going to come after you and the rest of your crew! What in the hell were you thinking?!" she cried, tears pouring down her face in rivers.

Zoro caught her small hands in his as he noticed the blood soaking through the bandages around her arms, heart aching that what she was angry about wasn't that he had hurt her beyond belief, but that she was afraid of the trouble they had gotten themselves into. "Stop. You're ruining Chopper's hard work and you're spilling my blood," he said softly. "And I don't have that much more to give you." She tried to resist him at first, but quickly gave up and rested her head against his chest, still sobbing. He wrapped his arms around her and held her. "Don't worry so much about us. Do you really think we care who we pissed off by helping you? And do you really think that we'd lose to a bunch of assholes who treat other people worse than animals? We cause havoc everywhere we go, and we win. So stop worrying so damn much," he said, care filling his troubled voice, frowning and running a hand through her hair. Her crying slowed and her breathing began to return to normal. "And once we win, then you can set sail with us, right?" he said, a small smile creeping onto his face as she looked up at him.

Her red eyes held his gaze in disbelief as her crying finally ended, an answer failing to form in her mind. "Chopper's still got some work to do on your arms, so go back down to the infirmary and wait for him to wake up. We've got a few errands to take care of downtown," he added, referencing their plan to assault the business district. She began to protest once again, but he cut her off. "I told you yesterday, it's my choice now. And it's the rest of the Straw Hats' choice, too."

Iris turned around and looked at the rest of the crew watching the exchange between her and their swordsman. Each face she saw had the same smug look of confidence and determination to destroy the slave trade on this island. "What are you all going to do?" she asked hesitantly, still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she was now free and that there were people in her world now that could and would stand up to the barbarity of Liberty island.

"Eh, a little of this and a little of that. Don't worry about the details," Usopp said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Let's go!" Luffy said excitedly, and before Iris knew it Zoro had led her back down to the infirmary and had woken Chopper up to finish mending her arms. He then left with the rest of the crew to storm downtown and the slave trade center. The doctor gave her a local anesthesia and grafted skin from her legs to her arms; Iris wasn't surprised that it seemed minimally painful. One, Chopper was an excellent doctor who knew how to complete the procedure in the most efficient and least damaging way, but two, she had just survived a far more painful and damaging surgery at the blade of Zoro's sword yesterday. Chopper's delicate movements were nothing compared to that. Tears once again filled her eyes again as she thought of everything he and the Straw Hats were risking to help her.

"Iris, is the anesthesia wearing off? I can give you another shot," the reindeer asked, noticing her tears.

She shook her head. "No, it's not that. I was just thinking about everything that you all are doing, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why. What am I that you all would put so much of yourselves into helping me or this island?" she asked softly.

"Not what, but who. You're a person. And a really good person, at that. And we had so much fun with you the other night! You're our friend now, why wouldn't we help you?" Chopper said brightly.

Iris was speechless and dumbfounded; for her entire life, she had been told that she was worth only the work she could do or the amount a man was willing to pay for her. No one had ever thought of her as a human being before, so neither did she; and not since a very young age had she had a friend, save for her sister. She now stopped to consider what a person would do if his or her friends were risking their lives; she decided that she would not let them fight her battle for her. If they thought that this was something worth fighting for, then she would stand at their sides and lead the fight alongside them.


	7. Chapter 7

"Wait, where are you going?" Chopper asked, as she stood up immediately after he finished dressing her wounds. "You need to sit down and rest! You're still going to be dizzy from the anesthesia and you're still anemic, not to mention that you'll reinjure yourself if you move around too much!"

"Chopper, I don't want to make you mad, but I'm going to fight. I can't stay here and wait for everyone while they're out risking their lives," she said with a calm determination as she walked out the door. She was free now, she repeated over and over to herself; and she would do what she felt was right.

Chopper's jaw dropped open. "Ah… ah… are you going to make me have to put you together again?!" he yelled out to her as she walked down the gangplank, the anesthesia and medication dulling the pain from her injuries and making it much easier for her to walk now, if far more dangerous.

She turned and smiled back up to him, "I'm sorry, Chopper, but yes, I probably will," she answered sheepishly before running off down the dock back towards town. Chopper only giggled to himself as he took off after her to go join his crew in the battle; she really did fit in well with the Straw Hats and he was very glad that Zoro had already asked her to join them. If he hadn't, Chopper was sure Luffy would have anyway.

Iris raced through the industrial district back to the workshop as she heard crashes and explosions coming from the business district. _They really don't waste time, do they?_ she thought to herself, smiling with a strange sort of excitement she'd never experienced before. She slammed the door open and headed to the back, where she kept the few belongings she owned.

"Iris! Why are you not dead, you little bitch?" Paul yelled menacingly at her. She jumped at the angry sound of his voice and could hear him approaching her from behind. She refocused on removing her weapons from under her mattress; two war scythes almost as tall as she was that she had forged in secret from leftover materials. Her sister had taught her to fight long ago; when she wasn't working she trained whenever she could behind Paul's back. Iris had never once thought she would actually use her skills to fight, but she would never abandon anything that her sister had left to her, be it a memento or a lesson learned. She finally got a good grip on one of them and she turned and swung it around her head to land the blade on Paul's shoulders as he slid to a halt behind her. All she had to do was pull it towards her with a swift yank, and his head would fall to the floor. Paul looked terrified and Iris stared him in the eyes, the full weight of her freedom finally beginning to sink in. She no longer had to take his orders or tolerate his abuse. She was free to make her own choices, and she now had the choice to take a life in her hands. The power she could now wield felt wonderful and sickening at the same time.

"Don't touch me. Don't look at me. Don't even think about me ever again. I don't belong to you anymore. I don't belong to anyone. I'm taking my things and leaving. If you try to stop me I will take your head from you faster than lightning," she growled at him, then swung the scythe back around off his shoulders and rested it on her own, confidence in herself growing with each passing moment.

Paul's eyes blazed with fury at her defiance and he started towards her; she swung the scythe back around and smacked him in the temple with the blunt side and he fell to the ground cursing. He recovered and returned to his feet, and lunged at her once again. She blocked him, but he had pinned her on top of the bed; she had few options for escape now. Her scythe was tenuously balanced between them now; his snarling face inches from hers, eyes wild and boring into hers. One hand of hers was on the handle and the other braced the blunt back of the blade that faced him; she forced it forward with a cry of determination forcing him off her, removing first his fingers and then his head. She took several ragged breaths and looked at Paul's body on the floor in front of her, then glanced in the direction of his head that had rolled over to the door. Nausea hit her like a tidal wave; she gripped the footboard of her bed and vomited on the floor from disgust that she had actually killed him. Tears filled her eyes and so many emotions and thoughts swarmed through her heart and mind; surprise, horror, regret, relief, fear, sadness, panic. _I hate him, why do I wish I hadn't killed him?_ she thought as the tears dripped silently from her eyes. _Am I disappointed because he isn't alive for me to hate anymore? Or am I just so disgusted with myself because I'm a murderer now?_

She refocused on her ties to her new friends and prepared herself to fight; there was no time to worry about what murdering Paul meant to her now, the Straw Hats were fighting for her and she would stand up with them to fight for her own cause. She stood back up, wiping her eyes and calming herself as much as she could and then retrieved the second scythe from her mattress. Securing them to her back, she hastily gathered her few remaining belongings and stuffed them in a small pack. She hesitated just outside the door, taking one last look at the faded metal sign and the workshop that held only her memories of death and pain, then rushed towards the business district, determined never to look back again.

She turned several more corners and paused as she took in the sight of the business center. She could hardly see anything for the smoke and flames that filled the air; the doors had been blown open and there were several large holes in the façade of the building. Iris could hear the sounds of fighting coming from inside the building and saw the flashes of marines' rifles on the ground as they took aim at the windows of the upper levels of the building. _Fantastic, they've called the navy in; as if the thugs that man this place weren't going to be enough,_ Iris thought morosely. _But what are they even doing here? They never come to Liberty Island._ She tried to make her way to a side path as quickly as she could, but she noticed that the painkillers and anesthetics were wearing off now and she could feel her face throbbing, her shoulder aching, and the tightness and swelling in her knee. She willed away the pain as much as she could, quietly entering the building by a side staff door to avoid notice from either the marines or the guards.

Once inside she stopped to focus on the sounds and presences throughout the building, trying to figure out who was where. Her sister had taught her some Haki, just enough to be able to observe; Ivy died before Iris fully mastered armament Haki. Now, she struggled to search the building and find the Straw Hats; she had never used any of her skills in actual combat and her adrenaline was interfering with her ability to concentrate. She only noticed the presence of a bodyguard approaching her at the last moment; she grabbed her scythe and countered his strike just before his blade connected with her skull and the impact forced her stance backwards a few feet. He scoffed at her delayed reaction and quickly recoiled and prepared for another attack. Iris ducked under his blow and retrieved her other scythe off her back and swung it around, catching him in the legs and pulling his feet out from under him. He fell backwards and his head collided with a large block of collapsed stone from the exterior wall, rendering him unconscious. Unsure if her enemy was out cold or dead, anxiety gripped her heart until she saw his chest rising and falling. She berated herself for letting her emotions interfere with her concentration; she was both excited that her skills were so strong and terrified at what harm she might irreversibly cause. She returned her mind to the battle at hand, then dashed up the stairs towards the closest Straw Hat presence.

Iris determined that Usopp was on the fifth level of the business center and leaped up the stairs as fast as she could. Arriving in the hallway she could see him fighting off several marines, firing off lead stars, exploding stars, and Tabasco stars faster than she could follow. He had the upper hand at the moment, but she sensed another platoon quickly scaling the side of the building just outside the windows of the hallway. She dashed over to him and jumped up to the nearest window ledge.

"Iris…?" he trailed off as she swung a war scythe over her head. She was crouched on the ledge and grinned down at four marines who had paused on the ropes on the side of the building, surprised at her appearance. Her smile quickly vanished as bullets ricocheted off the stone around the window; in her haste to prevent the climbing marines from entering the building she hadn't noticed the squadron of marines on the ground firing up into the windows. She twisted her wrist letting her scythe drop and slice through the ropes the soldiers were using to climb up the side, watching them fall five stories into the bushes in the landscaping below. Yells of pain reached her ears from the ground; she was relieved that they were only injured and not dead. She turned and jumped back in through the window to see the remaining marines lying unconscious on the ground around the sniper. Usopp was now staring at her, baffled. "What are you doing here? How can you fight with the shape you're in?"

"How can I not? Never mind that, anyway, what's the plan here-"

She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence; a marine had struggled to his feet behind Usopp and was quickly taking aim at them both. Usopp watched her swiftly swing a scythe around her head in his direction; the sniper ducked at the last second as the blunt side of the weapon connected with the marine's head, knocking him out cold for a good while now. "Geez, warn me before you do something like that! And how the hell does someone so small use such huge scythes?"

"Seriously, never mind all that now. What are you all trying to do here?"

He shook his head. "Chopper's going to be mad, look, you're already bleeding," he said, gesturing to the bloody bandages on her arms and legs. She gritted her teeth and glared at him. "All right, all right! We don't really plan things out too much, but this time, even the plan we put in place didn't really work out. Nami, Robin, and I were going to sneak in and find the main operating room of this place to scramble the GPS. My theory is that if we can do that, then we can reprogram the system and shut down the basic programming of the armbands and disable the shock mechanisms. Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Franky, and Brook were supposed to wait in two teams to cause a distraction once the bosses here noticed something was up. But Luffy's not exactly the patient type and he charged in too early. Nami got distracted looking for the building's vault. On top of it all, the navy showed up in droves. Chopper's supposed to join up with whoever he finds first, I don't know if he's gotten here yet or not. Once we get the GPS system reprogrammed, we're gonna blow this place up and the armbands will be nothing more than an obnoxious decoration. Robin, Nami, and I were supposed to stick together, but between the bodyguards, Nami's obsession with the money hiding somewhere in here, and the marines we got separated. Do you know anything about the layout of this building?"

Iris thought about this plan; it was so reckless, there were so many holes, and there were so many chances for the Straw Hats to get hurt. "Um, yeah, I sort of do," her head was spinning from the adrenaline of her previous confrontations and worry for her new friends. "Should we find Robin and Nami first?" she asked, her eyes reflecting strong concern for them.

"That could take a while, and they're stronger than you think-"

"I can find them. Just give me a moment," Iris interrupted, eager to demonstrate her own strength and lose her worries about Paul in battle, and distraught about what might have happened to the two girls. She took a deep breath and concentrated. This would be more difficult; she wasn't just looking for any friendly energy now, she was searching for specific presences. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as the seconds ticked away and she struggled to find them. The presences of Zoro and Sanji were strong outside; they were close. She could feel Luffy, Brook, and Franky fighting on the opposite side of the building. _So the teams blew open both the front doors and the loading dock,_ she thought, then refocused on her current task. _Where in the hell are they?_ She searched deeper and finally discovered two friendly presences in the basement of the building. "They're in the cells under the auction block," she said apprehensively. "And they're not moving. It's likely that they've been captured; there's several other hostile presences with them down there."

"H-How many?"

"You want me to waste time counting? Come on, let's go get 'em back," Iris said, walking down the hallway to the stairs again, pleasantly surprised at the confidence her combat skills afforded her. Usopp didn't follow; she turned back to see the sniper's legs shaking. "Really? You're that scared? Be my back up then."

"My 'can't-go-into-basements' disease is starting to-"

"Shut up and come on," Iris said, grinning just a little bit at his ridiculousness as he tentatively followed her down the stairs. Something about being with the Straw Hats, any of them, seemed to wash her worries and cares away, no matter what they were. "The good news is I'm very familiar with the layout of the cell room under the block. We'll take this main set of stairs down to the first floor, but then we'll take the loading dock stairs to the back entrance of the cell room. They won't expect anyone to use those, the doors have strong locks on them. But you can help with that, right?"

Usopp began to grin, fear turning to pride in his varied sets of skills. "Leave it to Captain Usopp!" Iris giggled as they made their way through the first floor to the back stairs, both eager to save their friends and finish the trade center off.


	8. Chapter 8

Arriving at the second set of stairs, they descended quickly and snuck quietly along the darkened hallway until they reached a heavy set of double doors. "These are the ones with the lock. You'll have to be as quiet as you can be. As soon as you've got it unlocked, I'll rush in swinging while you cover me. And then we'll just fight our way to Robin and Nami."

"Not much of a plan."

"Neither is the plan you guys put together for taking this place down. They go together real well," Iris whispered, unable to suppress a grin of excitement. The heat of battle was stirring her up and she could hardly contain herself as Usopp worked on the lock; adrenaline pumped through her veins again, exciting her confidence and numbing the pain from her previous injuries. She was poised to spring into action when she heard the lock click softly. They looked at each other; Usopp could see Iris's eyes practically glowing in the dark and her excitement was contagious. "Ready?" she asked.

He nodded, and she reached behind her to grab her scythes as she kicked the door open. She heightened her senses and began to observe as she charged towards the nearest guard. _Total of fifteen targets, all trade guards; ten are armed with projectile weapons, the five in the back are experienced in close range combat,_ she determined quickly. _Shot from the left, duck, shot from the right._ She dodged to the left, and swung the left scythe around the legs of three of the shooters, knocking them to the ground and slicing their calves in the process. These fighters were stronger than the ones she had encountered before; the minor injuries she had just inflicted wouldn't be nearly enough to take them down. She swung the blunt side of her right scythe into their heads as they were standing up; the impact enough to incapacitate them for a good while even if they were still conscious. Her scythes were crossed in front of her now. _Duck,_ her observation told her as the butt of a rifle swished through the air where head had been half a moment earlier. She turned to the right and flipped the scythe in her right hand, blades turned away from each other. She swung them together, sandwiching three more shooters between the blunt sides of the scythes and knocking the wind out of them. She lifted the right scythe above her head and swung it downward, slicing the torsos of the three shooters and bringing them down.

 _Dodge left,_ she noted next but just a little too late. The bullet grazed her right cheek as she bent over backwards, then flipped over completely and crouched behind a large stack of wooden crates to collect herself. "Get her now!" a man hollered and she could hear them fast approaching her, but they were stopped by a barrage of exploding stars firing out from the doorway. Usopp covered her while she composed herself; she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Two tables had been flipped over and there were two shooters taking cover behind each of them. She needed to block their vision while she charged them to avoid getting shot again. Quietly and quickly she turned around and she slid the scythes under the crates, blunt edges together forming a T, while Usopp and the remaining shooters exchanged fire. With a determined yell she flung the crates in the direction of the shooters, then burst through the falling debris, crouching low and leading with the scythes' blades turned out. Once she was in between the tables she swung the scythes out and around, catching the shooters on either side of her in the back. The blades sliced open deep gashes and the impact of her attack crashed them into the tables as well, immobilizing them as they landed in a tangled pile of bodies and wood fragments. She stood up, flipping the scythes so the blades faced downward, and faced the five remaining combatants, surveying the weapons they used. The first two wielded cutlasses, the third brandished brass knuckles, and the fourth two broad axes. The fifth remained in a chair at a table in the back of the room, legs lazily propped on the table as he watched his subordinates fight, his own weapons still concealed. Behind them all, she could see Robin and Nami watching in awe from a sea prism stone cell.

A pause hung in the room for just a moment, each side waiting to see who would make the first move. A pile of scattered crates to her left crumbled and settled into several pieces, and the two swordsmen rushed her. She swung her scythes up in front of her to block, blades now above their heads. She grinned at them through the maze of steel in front of her, then pulled the scythes downward, each scythe catching a swordsman in the shoulder and throwing them to the ground. One of the swordsman reached out for his sword shakily; she hooked the right scythe's blade under it and flung it far away behind her. The man with brass knuckles charged next; she raised the left scythe to guard his right hook in front of her, but a left undercut passed under the handle and caught her in her cracked ribs, breaking them completely. Her eyes went wide and she buckled to her knees in pain, coughing up blood. She realized now that she was no longer observing and she silently cursed herself; if she had been paying as much attention as she had when the shooters were still standing she may have been able to counter or dodge the punch. But her ability to take down the previous ten enemies so swiftly and easily had made her overconfident; she relaxed too much and became careless. A lead star flew past her, the breeze catching her hair and hit the boxer between the eyes, knocking him out cold. She cast a quick glance around her arm back towards Usopp and smiled thankfully, hoping that he understood her gratitude. He returned her appreciative smile with a thumbs up and she stood back up to face the last standing fighter.

She watched the axe man, concentrating once again on her Haki. She closed her eyes. _Right slash, parry it with the left blade. Overhead chop, block with the right handle. Counter with a left slash._ Her counterattack was blocked; she opened her eyes once again as she recognized that he was pushing her stance back, she needed to take the offensive. She let the right blade swing down in front of her, catching his left arm with the handle and dislocating his shoulder, bringing him to his knees. He retaliated with a wild right chop aimed at her left leg. She let go of the right handle briefly as she jumped over the chop and rotated full circle to the right in midair to land the blade of her left scythe on the shoulder of the axe man; poised to behead him. She stared at her blade as anxiety gripped her chest once again; she had been in this same position not so long ago and had ended up taking a life. He gulped and dropped his axe in surrender as she gripped the handle of her right scythe again, still caught under his arm. She kicked the axes into the corner over by Usopp.

The man at the table stood up, clapping and laughing, and approached her slowly. She prayed he couldn't sense her fear and anxiety at holding his subordinate's life in her hands. "You're not bad, girl. But you look ridiculous with those oversized weapons. They're almost as big as you, how in God's name are you able to swing them around so easily?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, then removed the scythe from the head of his subordinate, wanting to give up that power as soon as possible but needing to immobilize the axe man. He began to breathe a sigh of relief, only to be yanked upwards by her right scythe's handle and flipped onto his back by his mangled arm and shoulder. He writhed in a considerable amount of pain and showed no intention of getting back to his feet. The leader glanced around the room as he approached her slowly and shook his head at his fallen comrades. "Useless, all of you. There's just the two of them. He's a sorry excuse for a sniper and she's one little girl playing with death's toys. Can't you even slow them down?"

Iris noticed that she once again had lost concentration on her observation, and threw her head back at the last second as the leader drew a dagger from inside his jacket and rapidly sliced at her neck from the left. _Should've jumped back and put distance between us,_ she thought as she watched the dagger come back towards her right side, realizing she had not placed herself in a position to dodge or block. He recovered from the recoil much more quickly than she anticipated and the point of the dagger sunk into her torso, piercing her lung. "Iris!" she heard Nami scream out. _Fall forward, you don't want to get in Usopp's way._ A barrage of stars of all sorts began to fly over her head as she landed on her knees and slumped over. The leader was cursing and covering his eyes; he hadn't anticipated such a fierce retaliation from the 'sorry excuse for a sniper.' He turned and escaped out the main stairway to the cell room that led up to the auction block.

"Iris, are you alright?!" Usopp came running up behind her.

"I'm… okay…" she wheezed, having a great deal of difficulty breathing. "Let's get them out of there and get to the control room." She coughed again, more blood spraying onto the floor and trickling down the corner of her mouth. With great effort, she rose to her feet; her vision blurring in and out as she slowly made her way to Nami and Robin's cell. "Usopp," she gasped, "can you pick this lock?" She leaned against the bars as he got to work.

"Iris… are you alright?" Nami asked, eyes wide with fear and awe. "Iris?"

"I'm… alright…" she said between labored breaths.

"You're such a strong fighter. Where did you ever learn to use those things? And why such huge weapons, of all things?" Nami continued as Usopp successfully picked the lock and freed the two women from the cell.

Iris dropped her right scythe and gripped the bars for additional support. "Long… story…" she coughed once again, dropping her left scythe now as well and clutching her side. "I'll tell you the story some other time," she barely could whisper as she turned to Nami with a weak smile. "Never mind that now… we've got to get to the control room… and the vault… and finish this crazy mess… you all started," she finished, taking in another wheezy, deep breath while her smile broadened. Even though she had taken a good deal of damage, she had won the battle to save her new friends; and she had never been so happy before in her life.

Robin and Nami supported Iris as the four made their way back up the loading dock stairs. "Do you know where the control room is?" Nami asked hesitantly. Iris's breath was becoming shallower and more labored with each passing moment; Nami was worried about how long she could hold out.

"I'm guessing… it will be… near the auction block," she paused heavily, then jerked her arm off Nami's shoulders to clamp a hand over her mouth for another fit of coughing. Iris knew that each cough only spewed more blood; she didn't want to worry the three even more than they already were. She swallowed the taste of iron that filled her mouth. She knew that she was doing poorly; with each cough her vision was beginning to blacken and blur more and more. She took in a deep, wheezy breath. "They'd want to be able to keep as close of an eye on the auction block as they can. There aren't too many doors over there, either, we should just start kicking them down." She removed her other arm from Robin's shoulder and leaned on her knees for a moment before standing up fully once again. "It's okay, I can walk myself," she smiled weakly.

"We don't have to kick them down," Robin said. "I can check inside each door we pass. Ojos fleurs!" The four took off down the hallway once again, a bit slower than they were before, but Iris refused to let her injuries slow them down much; the battle wasn't even half over yet. Robin checked about half a dozen doors before finally stopping in front of one. "This is it."

Iris moved towards the door with every intent of kicking it in, but another foot crashed into it first; she looked over to see Nami grinning at her. The four then headed into the room, full of banks of computers. Usopp sat down at one of the machines, with Nami and Robin watching over his shoulder and helping him brainstorm how to reprogram the software. Iris leaned against a wall just inside the door and slumped to the floor. Now that she was still, she felt the full brunt of all her pain. She realized that her vision was blurring and blacking not just because of her difficulty breathing and blood loss, but also the jackhammer pounding in her head from her surgically pinned skull. Her shoulder was starting to stiffen; soon she wouldn't be able to swing her right scythe properly anymore. Her knee was swelling; she wondered how she was even going to be able to stand back up; not to mention that the bandages on her arms and legs were completely soaked with blood to the point of dripping now.

Above and beyond all her injuries, her chest felt like it was filled with lead, the weight from the guilt and shame of Paul's murder now having returned full force in the wake of her most recent victory. _I got them here, I'm no more use in this control room now,_ she thought to herself. She was beginning to doubt that she would survive at this point, or even if she should survive. There was one thing left that she wanted to do before she left this world, however. All of the Straw Hats had helped her in some way, shape, or form; but she felt connected with Zoro most. He had been a light in her darkness before she even recognized him on their first day at Liberty Island. He had saved her from her armbands and from Paul, and enlisted Sanji to help him, then the rest of the crew. And now, he was putting his life on the line once again not just for her, but for the whole island, along with the Straw Hats. She gripped her left scythe, using it to pull herself to her feet quietly with her one relatively good leg; smiling sadly at the backs of the three Straw Hats engrossed in destroying the island's means of controlling the slaves before she slipped out of the room and headed to the front of the business center where she could feel Sanji and Zoro fighting.


	9. Chapter 9

As she slowly neared the holes in the wall that somewhat resembled their former appearances as windows and doors, she felt the fighting slow and stall outside of the building. _What's going on?_ she thought. _Did they win? Did they… fall?_ Tears filled her eyes at the morbid idea and she tried to hobble faster towards the battleground. She poked her head around the rubble surrounding the space that the door had previously occupied and witnessed Zoro and Sanji standing on the front lawn surrounded by fallen marines and guards, blood spattered everywhere. They themselves had sustained a moderate amount of damage; scrapes, bruises, and few deeper gashes. The marines now had surrounded them completely from a distance; a line of vice-admirals stood in front of them poised to attack. Behind them she could see the arbiter and some of the more prominent owners of the island; it appeared that they were the ones who called in the navy, although she still didn't understand why the navy would bother protecting the island's slave trade. She noticed snipers lining windows and rooves across the street, all taking aim at the chef and swordsman, but if the bullet holes in the rubble around them were any indication, it appeared they were having a great deal of difficulty actually hitting them even as they were fighting the navy officers. Sanji casually lit up a cigarette, waiting for them to make their move; but none dared. Zoro smirked, "Are they really all too chicken-shit to come at us?"

Iris smiled and summoned up her strength and will once again to push aside her pain and injuries and stand tall; she _would_ fight, even if it killed her. She took the scythes from her back and walked slowly out to stand beside them. Feeling someone approach them from behind, they both glanced in her direction, eyes widening when they realized who it was. "Iris!" Zoro exclaimed in shock, first at seeing her there on the battlefield with them, but second at her condition. "What are you doing here?! Why would you come here? You should be recovering at the ship!" he spoke sharply, studying her eyes for explanation, worry more than anger filling his own.

She met his gaze, holding it for as long as the battle would allow her and drinking in the concern, the emotion, the… fear? Was that fear she saw in his eyes? Of what? Just moments ago he was calling the marines chicken-shit, what could possibly frighten Roronoa Zoro? And why the sudden change in his demeanor? He had been so confident, what was this torrent of emotion she saw in his face? She took a strained breath before speaking, causing Zoro only more alarm. "I came here to fight with the Straw Hats," she said, voice full of both pain and hope, then added shyly and more quietly to him alone, "I wanted to fight at your side," hoping he understood what she meant as it was too difficult for her to breathe and explain further. Zoro only stared at her in disbelief and sorrow; losing all focus on the battle and failing to notice the advance of the vice-admirals behind him.

"Got it!" Usopp yelled in triumph as the software was successfully reprogrammed and the GPS system was shut down. "Let's go meet up with the others and burn this place to the ground."

"First, let's use the system to find the vault and unlock it. Then, we can go find the others. We've got all the monsters out there, it's not like they're really going to be in rough shape or anything," Nami said excitedly, anticipating an enormous increase in the Straw Hats' wealth soon. Usopp and Robin only smirked at Nami's enthusiasm, then two of the three turned to the door to see a pool of blood where Iris had been. They had been so focused in their work that they only now noticed that Iris had disappeared.

"I-Iris?" Usopp called out, with no answer. "She's gone!"

"Where could she have gotten off to? And how?! She's a mess!" Nami declared, searching rapidly through surveillance files to find the vault. Like a divining rod, she quickly found what she was looking for and made a mental note of the vault's location.

"There's no time now to figure out where or why, let's meet up with the others and we can all search for her," Robin said calmly. Nami and Usopp nodded in agreement and headed towards the nearest sounds of explosions, which turned out to be Luffy's group at the loading dock, and Chopper was with them now as well. Nami, Robin, and Usopp stood in the gaping hole in the side of the building, and studied the scene in front of them. It was an open area, and the platoons of marines were no longer approaching them at this point; too many had already fallen. They were regrouping quite a distance away from Luffy, Franky, Chopper and Brook; but Nami noticed something strange. The groups that were being formed were not regular soldiers, but all ranked officers; vice-captains, captains, and even vice-admirals. Nami finally took a moment to wonder at what the navy was doing here, anyway. Hadn't the World Government long ago abandoned this island as a lost cause?

"Luffy, we took the control room out, let's get the money, find the others, and get out of here!" Nami yelled at him across the debris filled plaza.

"Nami! You guys are alright! Okay, good, let's go," he answered, turning to run towards them, but the navy officers seemed to have other ideas. Luffy glared at them, and intimidated them with Conqueror's Haki. As much fun as the battle had been to this point, he was looking forward to burning the building down with the rest of his crew. "What's the navy doing here anyway?"

"I don't know, but they're not really giving us many opportunities to ask," Nami said as they hurried back inside.

"Oi, have you seen Iris anywhere?" Usopp asked anxiously as they made their way to the front of the building, Zoro and Sanji being the only ones left to regroup with.

"You saw her?! Is she alright?" Chopper asked hopefully, but said hope dwindled quickly as he saw the distress written across the others' faces. "What happened?"

"Robin and I were captured by the guards and being held in the basement, and she and Usopp came and rescued us. But she was wounded and when we got to the control room, she disappeared. We don't know where she went," Nami answered worriedly.

"She came to fight?!" Franky asked.

"Yeah, she's pretty strong too!" Usopp exclaimed. "She uses Haki and war scythes."

The four that had just joined them looked at him in disbelief. "Don't look at me like that! Why would I make something like that up? Ask Robin and Nami, they saw her fight too!" Usopp defended. The two girls nodded reluctantly; they were quite aware of how ridiculous it sounded, and wouldn't have believed it either if they hadn't seen it themselves.

"We'll explain later, right now we've got to find everyone and finish this," Nami said, then had another thought. "I'm going to start looking for Iris, you go get Sanji and Zoro," she added hastily with and devious grin and money dancing in her eyes.

"Uh-huh, clearly that was concern in her eyes as she practically flew towards the vault," Usopp muttered; the rest only chuckled as they watched her dash off down a hall and then raced to the front doors. They could hear crashes and blasts coming from the front of the building where Sanij and Zoro were; there had been a lull in the battle, but now it seemed the fighting had resumed at full strength. The crew arrived at the rubble still attempting to present itself as the front doors, and looked on at the battleground that had rapidly descended into desperate.

The fight briefly paused as Zoro, Sanji, and Iris were now cornered by a squadron of officers, battling fiercely back to back to back, but it was painfully clear that they were on the defensive and losing ground. The vice-admirals had taken advantage of Sanji's and Zoro's distraction by the arrival of Iris and swiftly descended upon the trio, attacking mercilessly, each strike intending to kill. All used Haki, and several were devil fruit eaters, and the rapid barrage of their attacks made it difficult to assess what abilities each had and how to effectively counter and defend against them. The assault of sniper attacks had stopped in order to avoid shooting the officers; that was the only saving grace of the situation at hand. Now, both sides were calculating the most effective move to make next.

Sanji, Iris, and Zoro moved simultaneously, refusing to let the vice-admirals control the pace of the battle and turning back towards the offensive. Sanji unleased a fiery flurry of kicks on at least a dozen of the officers in front of him, ducking and dodging an uncountable number of attacks from weapons, devil-fruit abilities, and armament Haki in doing so. But even he couldn't keep up with the onslaught of strikes, and an armament fist caught him in the back as the ground beneath his feet crumbled from a devil-fruit eater who could control the soil. One of his legs was caught in the newly created hole and vice-admirals descended upon him from every direction; slashing, chopping, and pummeling the chef.

Iris wasn't faring any better, she was facing off against fewer opponents but they were no less skilled than Sanji's enemies. Swords swished through the air at her from all sides, and the Straw Hats could see the strength that Usopp, Nami, and Robin had been talking about earlier. Her eyes were closed, focusing all her remaining energy on observation, allowing her to land several strong slashes on the vice-admirals with her scythes. Robin and Usopp noticed that her injuries had taken their toll, however; she was struggling with her right scythe and her arm wasn't moving or reacting as quickly as her left. On top of that, her stance had weakened; she was being pushed back far more easily than she had been before, and it became clear that her right leg wasn't able to support her as well as before. The vice-admirals quickly discerned her weaknesses and targeted the injured areas immediately, a club smashing into her right knee and snapping it inward, and a sword catching her right scythe and twisting her arm in an unnatural direction, causing her to shriek in pain as her shoulder was easily pulled out of socket once again. A third officer took the opportunity to run her through with his cutlass.

Zoro turned at her cry of pain, just in time to see her fall to the vice-admiral's sword. He rushed to her, attracting the attention of her remaining enemies and facing off now against over twenty opponents. He unleashed a fevered series of demon slashes, tiger traps, and dragon twisters to protect her from further damage; but for every strike he landed, three direct hits landed on him. He fought through his ever increasing injuries as he sliced up the officer who had felled her to within an inch of his life before the impact of the other vice-admirals' attacks forced him to his knees on the ground next to Iris.

Luffy and the others hesitated in horror witnessing two of the strongest members of their crew being worn down and slowly defeated. The Straw Hats rushed in to fend off the attacks from the remaining vice-admirals and assist their crewmates. Even the vice-admirals' confidence wavered in the face of the majority of the strength of the Straw Hat crew, and they signaled a retreat. Sanji was finally able to free himself from the earth trap that he had been caught in and joined Luffy and the others in chasing them off and saw them begin to regroup several blocks away as Chopper rushed to Iris and Zoro.

"No, no, no…" Zoro was repeating to himself as he turned her over and took in the damage she had sustained. There was the huge hole running through her torso now, but he also noticed the bruising along her left side from her broken ribs and the deep stab would on her right; he couldn't believe that she had come to the battlefield to fight with him with such serious wounds. He lifted her head and studied her face for signs of life; Chopper placed a hesitant hand on the side of her neck, checking for a pulse.

"Zoro, she's still alive. Her pulse is weak and uneven, but it's there," he said quietly. Zoro looked at him with panic and tears in his eyes. Chopper winced at the unbridled agony in his face and hated what he had to say next. "We'll have to bring her back to the ship for me to fix her up; it looks like her lung is punctured, her ribs are broken, and she has massive internal bleeding. But…" he hesitated, "it's not very likely that she'll even make it to the ship, much less through another surgery."

Zoro's head spun trying to put this together; she couldn't die, she said she wouldn't. She wouldn't burden him with her death, leaving him to regret and wish he had done more. The tears spilled over silently and out of sight of the others; they had all fought with all their might, but what he regretted most now was not telling her once how beautiful she was, how compassionate she was, or how strong she was, both physically and in spirit. Luffy walked up behind them. "What are you waiting for? Get back to the ship, we'll take care of burning this place down." Zoro lifted his eyes from the maimed woman in his arms to his captain. "You know it, too, don't you? That she's strong? She's already part of our crew, she won't die. So you and Chopper need to take her back to the ship and get her fixed up fast." Zoro nodded, reassured by his captain's confidence and renewed his determination to help her be free of this island, once and for all.


	10. Chapter 10

Once they arrived at the ship, Chopper turned to Zoro with far more gravity than the swordsman had ever seen from him before. "Zoro, you're going to have to help me here. Robin usually monitors vital signs and administers anesthesia, and if I need it, Usopp assists. But neither of them are here right now so I'll need you to do both. And on top of that, she'll need a transfusion again, although I know your body can't stand to give up much more blood," he said fearfully. Not only had Zoro already donated far more blood to her than was healthy, but he had lost much more in the battle on top of that.

"Whatever you need, take it. I'll do everything you ask, we just need to save her," Zoro said desperately. Chopper nodded and began first by connecting Zoro's blood to Iris once again, with extra tubing so he could move around more freely to monitor and assist. After bypassing Iris's multiple severed arteries, Chopper asked for a report on her status.

"How's her blood pressure looking?"

"Um… 37/65?"

"You mean 65/37," Chopper corrected. _This is going to be rough enough without having to rely on someone who has no idea what he's doing,_ he thought. _But there's no sense in worrying about it; I know he's doing everything he can._ Chopper worked tirelessly on Iris's multiple injuries; the newest ones being the most severe, but the grafts on her arms and the pinning in her face needed repairing as well. While Iris's condition warranted the vast majority of his attention, he was worried about Zoro as well; Iris's blood pressure was rising very slowly, even with all the blood Zoro was giving her. Chopper could see his eyes losing focus and he noticed that Zoro was getting pale, although he still wasn't as pale as Iris was. He clamped off the arteries he was working on and walked around to Zoro's side.

"What are you doing? You're not done, even I can see that," Zoro muttered impatiently. Chopper prepared to disconnect the transfusion. "Hey, what are you doing? She needs that! Her blood pressure's still only 77/42. That's lower than the last time you operated!"

"I can't have you passing out on me. I can't finish this surgery alone. She needs your assistance as much as she needs your blood," Chopper explained. "It's dangerous but I'll have to risk it. We don't have any other choices here." Zoro grimaced but silenced himself as the reindeer returned to his surgery; he couldn't argue with him, as much as he wanted to. The swordsman's vision was going in and out and he found he was having difficulty just focusing on Chopper's instructions. He really couldn't give any more blood or he wouldn't be in much better shape than Iris. His perception of time and space warped as the surgery progressed; he began to hear noises on the ship, and thought at one point he might actually be losing his mind. Zoro felt as if they had spent an eternity suturing gashes, suctioning out internal bleeding, and repairing her previous surgical damage before Chopper finally announced the conclusion of his work. "There. All her organs and arteries are back where they should be and working. Now it's up to her to keep fighting and come back to us," he said.

Zoro let out a sigh of relief. "How long have we been working?"

"Eleven hours. You did really well, Zoro, thank you. She wouldn't have made it this far without you," he smiled. He was eager to go up and let the others know that they were done; he had heard them return at some point during the surgery and guessed that Robin had prevented anyone from entering the infirmary until this point. He was grateful; any interruptions would have disrupted his concentration and he could have easily made a fatal mistake, although he was a bit concerned that the ship was still anchored. What happened to the navy?

"Don't thank me yet. She's not awake yet," Zoro said warily, watching her rest for a few moments more before his vision fuzzed out and a look of confusion crossed his face as he saw stars; the last thing he heard was Chopper's voice calling his name as he felt his own body give out on him and collapse on top of Iris.

While Chopper and Zoro took care of Iris, back at the trade center six Straw Hats looked up at the building that was now in a state of shambles from their attacks. "Usopp, are the explosives ready?" Luffy asked.

Usopp grinned. "Already planted and ready to blow on your signal. But where the hell is Nami? We can't wait here forever."

As if on cue, the red head sprinted out of the building carrying at least half a dozen burlap bags stuffed to their brims with berries. "There's still some inside! We can't blow it up yet until we get the rest!"

"Nami, we don't have time! The navy's regrouping and they'll probably bring friends! Isn't this enough for you?" Usopp asked impatiently.

"Wait!" a voice called from inside the building. Nami turned around protectively, only to see four guards rushing towards them carrying the additional money bags from the vault. "You forgot some," they added, dropping it next to her with the other bags. It was then that the crew noticed their armbands. "There isn't enough cash in the vault to thank you for what you've done. We were forced to guard it before, but thanks to you, we don't have to worry about that anymore," they finished, grinning from ear to ear. The expressions of gratitude disappeared, however, when they noticed the crowd approaching the Straw Hats from the rear. Luffy turned around.

"You four, go find someplace to hide. We'll take care of protecting our money," he said, winking at them. They only returned his grin and took off down a side street away from the battle.

"Straw Hat! Hold it!" The arbiter of Liberty Island was now addressing Luffy.

"What do you want? We've got a building to blow up."

"Are you sure you want to do that? The navy's already here to haul you all away, do you want to add more to your crimes?" the arbiter challenged.

"Yup, I'm good with that. Besides, they won't be able to haul us off so easily," Luffy answered, not hesitating for a second with a broad smirk covering his face. He cracked his knuckles in anticipation of a new fight. "Stop us if you can."

The rest of the Straw Hats turned around, the same air of confidence and determination emanating from them all. The arbiter and the slave owners stared at them in anger and incredulity that the threat of the navy wasn't enough to deter them from taking the building down; the arbiter himself beginning to tremble, whether it was out of fear or rage wasn't completely clear, but the crew suspected that it was terror. A vice-admiral leaned over and whispered something to him, and he snapped his head to the officer with even more disbelief and fury. "You… what? But, we need-"

"I don't give one solitary shit about your slave trade. We're here for the sole purpose of capturing the Straw Hats. For the tip that they had landed on your island, we're grateful. But whether we stop them from blowing up the building is no concern of mine. This is Liberty Island, it's under no protection by the navy," the officer said out loud.

Luffy turned to Usopp and nodded, and the sniper flipped the switch on the trigger. A muffled rumbling could be heard coming from underneath the building, and grew louder as tremors were felt throughout the ground. The internal structure of the building could be seen collapsing through the holes in the exterior, and through the falling debris fiery explosions rose up loudly and demolished the remaining walls, completely leveling the building. The slave owners and arbiter watched on with shock and despair at the complete annihilation of the heart of the economic center of Liberty Island. The vice-admirals reformed their line preparing to attack, but the navy officers, the Straw Hats, and the slave owners of Liberty Island noticed something unusual before their attack could be made.

Faces began to peek out from alleys and buildings around the trade center, then hesitantly people began to exit them with the light of hope on their faces as they watched the last remaining fragments of the slave trade burn away brightly. The slave owners first noticed it; that the people exiting the surrounding buildings all had gold armbands clasped around their wrists. Several owners pulled out small remotes attempting to activate the timers, and the Straw Hats grinned smugly; not a single armband began a countdown. The fiery signal rising from the center of the business district was quickly drawing a large crowd of people who, until only a few minutes ago, had been slaves to the island. The slaves approaching the billowing smoke and fire seemed to have no end, and as they began to realize that the owners no longer had control of the armbands, many took up arms and advanced on the owners, the officers, and the arbiter. The Straw Hats were amazed at how quickly they outnumbered and overpowered the navy and the owners, driving them back to the harbor and the warships anchored there.

The Straw Hats smiled on happily; they had successfully deactivated the system, blown up the slave trade center, and freed thousands of human beings on the island. Of even greater importance, they now had about a dozen bags of berries to add to their cargo. "Looks like our work is done here," Sanji observed.

"Well, we ought to hit the road, then. Even if the navy supports the slaves' freedom, they'll still hunt us down. They'll probably try to reclaim the money," Nami thought out loud, hugging a bag of berries close. The rest of the crew nodded and gathered up the money, and then began to head back to the harbor.

"I wonder if Iris is okay and if Chopper was able to get her put back together!" Sanji worried aloud.

"Of course he did, and of course she is. They're both part of our crew, right?" Luffy smiled confidently.

Arriving at the Thousand Sunny, they saw Zoro and Chopper working on Iris's surgery. Robin stopped any of them from interrupting; she could see clearly how much Chopper was concentrating on the surgery and as much as he probably could have used her help, she knew it wouldn't be wise to risk the distraction of someone entering the infirmary at this point. She then realized that there was a bigger problem than the crew interrupting the surgery; they needed to sail out and were probably going to fall under attack. The noise and the tremors would be far more disruptive to the surgery than even Luffy would be.

The dilemma had dawned on Nami as well. "How are we going to get out of the harbor? We can't sail out while Chopper's still working on Iris," she asked with urgency to the crew gathered on the deck.

Franky looked into the distance beyond them back at the island. "Looks like we may not have to worry about that," he said, as he observed a huge crowd of the former slaves marching throughout the harbor. Large groups broke off and planted themselves on each of the docks, most with weapons, some with fishing rods, towels, and beach chairs.

A burly gentleman who appeared to be leading the procession approached the Sunny. "Gee, it feels so good to be able to walk around and do whatever we want now! Most of us have never just enjoyed hanging out by the docks fishing and taking in the sunshine. Straw Hat, you wouldn't mind if some of us came up and lounged around on your ship, would you? Being on the water is so peaceful, don't you think? Too bad two of your crew can't be up here to enjoy it, I heard they got into an accident of some sort? Hope they'll be okay soon," he said, with a devious grin on his face.

Robin grinned; this solved their dilemma. The slaves truly were grateful and weren't about to let the navy take down their saviors, and the marines couldn't possibly fire on a ship that had civilians aboard. "Sure, take over the deck for a little while! We weren't quite ready to leave yet, anyway," Luffy answered, graciously inviting them up the gangplank. Several sprawled out on the deck's lawn, camped out on top of the galley, and ascended the crow's nest to see the view.

Robin and Usopp waited just outside the door of the infirmary while the doctor continued his work on Iris. After several hours, they finally heard Chopper announce the end of the surgery and Zoro answer him, only to be followed by an alarmed shriek from Chopper. Robin and Usopp burst into the infirmary to see Chopper lifting Zoro's unconscious body off of Iris on the operating table.

"What happened?!" Usopp asked urgently.

"He's donated too much blood and his injuries are too severe for him to have been assisting me like he's been doing, but I couldn't have done it without him! He needs to rest as much as Iris does. Get Franky; I don't think there's enough blood between these two for even one whole person, let alone both of them." Robin dashed back upstairs to get Franky as Usopp helped Chopper lay Zoro down on a cot and then gently transferred Iris to one next to his as well.

Chopper quickly took a few pints of blood from Franky, who stated that he could easily donate more if needed. "No!" Chopper argued. "I'm done with treating you all for anemia right now! I will not allow a single person on this ship to donate blood to the point of passing out anymore! This much will help them plenty. Now all we can do is believe in their strength to recover." Franky knew enough to let it be, and let Chopper do what he needed to do to help Zoro and Iris best.


	11. Chapter 11

"How long do you think this is going to last? The navy won't let them stall forever," Nami said in low voice to Robin, watching the warships blockading the port. It had been a day and a half since the Straw Hats had returned to the Thousand Sunny and the slaves had started occupying the port while Chopper finished surgery; Iris and Zoro, both still unconscious, were now quietly recovering in the infirmary. He had then tended to the wounds of the others who were now resting about the ship with the slaves; Sanji was now covered in bandages, Nami, Robin, Luffy, and Franky as well to a lesser extent. Brook had several bones splinted and braced. Nami and Robin had taken up their usual spots for sunbathing on top of the galley with several of their guests, to add to the thinly veiled illusion that they really were just tourists visiting Liberty Island, and the slaves really were just coincidentally enjoying their newly acquired freedom.

"No, they won't. I gather the battle isn't quite over yet, and if the slaves insist on supporting us, they'll get dragged into it as well," Robin answered. A worried frown crossed Nami's face; Iris had already nearly died fighting with them, it wouldn't be right for any of the other slaves to suffer like she had. Taking down the trade center was supposed to end that for them; they had already experienced enough suffering for one lifetime. "Worrying about it won't help anything. Let's just see what happens next and go from there," Robin added, noticing Nami's concern. She then turned back to her book.

Cobalt, the leader of the slaves who had driven the marines back to their warships and the leader of the current peaceful occupation of the port, was now conferring with Usopp, Luffy, and Franky, to decide the next best course of action and how the Straw Hats could safely escape the brigade of navy ships anchored just outside the harbor. He was an intriguing person; he had fiercely led the battle of the marines back to the harbor after the trade center had fallen, but was easily just as collected and calculating when considering the future of Liberty Island. The Straw Hats' observation of him was that of a seasoned warrior; his face was marred from scars of past battles, and the edges of deeper, older wounds could be seen lining his arms around his cuffs.

"We can't thank you all enough for what you've done for us. I understand that you have two people recovering from battle below deck. We can protect you for as long as you need to stay anchored here; the navy wouldn't dare fire on your ship with civilians crawling all over it. When you're ready to leave, we'll set sail in the fishing boats and sail out of the harbor with you to get you ahead of them," he explained.

"We can't put you in harm's way like that," Franky said. "You're finally free now, all we want is to see you all make use of that on this island. Or some other island. Wherever you feel like going. You don't need to involve yourselves in our fight."

Cobalt's expression grew serious as he thought out his next words carefully. "Your fight is our fight. You know that the navy abandoned this island a long time ago. But they didn't just give up on containing the crime, they gave up on protecting the innocent on this island. They've turned a blind eye as thousands of children have been forced into this life and been brutally misused, abused, and killed. We have no intention of flying the flag of the World Government once we've re-established order on this island; we want to fly yours."

The three Straw Hats stopped, stunned that their Jolly Roger had become the symbol of freedom and justice for this island. "Please," he continued. "Please let our island fly your flag under your protection. You can claim this island as your territory. You've been the only ones to fight and protect us for at least fifty years. And then, let us help you sail off this island safely. With your support, everyone on this island can finally be free."

Franky and Usopp looked at Luffy; this request honored the Straw Hats greatly, but also held a great deal of responsibility. "What will you do when we've left? The navy certainly won't like your island flying our Jolly Roger," the captain asked.

Cobalt smiled. "You saw many of us chase the marines back to the harbor, didn't you? The owners taught and trained many of us for different skills over the years. Some of us were trained as ring fighters. The owners would regularly hold brutal battles, sometimes to the death and usually to some sort of permanent disfigurement, and bet on their fighters." He gestured to the scars on his face and arms while he spoke. "For several years I've been undefeated, and I hold the longest record of victory in the history of the fights. There's plenty of other fighters on this island who are just as strong. Let the navy come; we'll chase them back to their ships as many times as we need to until they get the message that this island belongs to the Straw Hats." Franky and Usopp looked to their captain and smiled as he grinned broadly and shook the leader's hand in acceptance of his proposal.

Below deck, the crew had been rotating turns watching over their two patients, Zoro and Iris. Sanji was on watch now, admiring the view from the infirmary's porthole of several gorgeous native islanders that were sunbathing on the dock, when Zoro began to stir and wake.

"Aw, I was hoping Iris would wake first," the cook expressed in disappointment. Zoro only scowled at him, testing out various limbs and joints for pain and injury. Discovering that he no worse for his usual amount of wear in battle, he sat up and watched Iris resting for several minutes before he spoke.

"How's she doing?"

"Hanging in there. You're totally useless, you know. Chopper had to get Franky to give you both blood," Sanji answered with a smirk. "But you're both up over 100/60 now, which apparently is back to normal. I suppose I ought to get Chopper. And the rest of the crew will want to know you're awake, too," he added with a sigh and one last glance at Iris, then left and went upstairs.

Zoro sat in silence, studying the various bandages and dressings covering Iris. Her face was freshly bandaged, as were her arms. She was propped up to keep pressure off of her ribs and the wounds to her torso, and her right arm was in a sling. Bandages were wrapped around her chest and abdomen, and finally, her right leg was bent and cast, and elevated. More of her was covered in bandages than not, he observed. He wasn't sure what to think or feel; he knew that he cared about this woman more than anyone he had ever met before, and he wasn't aware of how much so until he fought with her just two days ago. From the moment he met her at the workshop and she took care of his swords to the moment she fell in battle next to him, he had felt strangely connected to and understood by her; and she to him as well. He reached out and took her hand in both of his, hoping that he would get the chance to tell her so. He knew she had anticipated that the battle would be her last chance of telling him how she felt about him. But she couldn't give up now, not after they had fought so hard and after she had survived so much.

"Zoro?" Chopper's meek voice called from the doorway. Zoro looked over at him, swallowing hard. "How are you feeling?"

Zoro cleared his throat and looked over to Chopper, removing his hands from Iris's. "Not bad. A little headache, a little dizzy. Nothing getting back to the usual routine around here won't fix," he muttered. "Everyone been taking turns keeping watch over us? I can't imagine any other reason the damn love cook would be in here."

Chopper giggled. "Yeah. Usopp's turn is next. I sent Sanji to go make you something to eat, why don't you go upstairs and get some fresh air?"

"No, I'll take Usopp's turn. I've been sleeping for a day and a half, my turn's overdue now."

"Zoro! You just woke up, you need to take it easy-"

"I'll just be sitting in here, what could possibly be any easier than that?"

Chopper sighed, the idiot needed to worry about himself first and let the others take care of Iris; but the swordsman never listened to him before, why would he start now? "Fine, do what you want. Come get me as soon as Iris wakes up, I'll need to take a look at her stitches and change the dressings," he said, slightly exasperated but far more relieved that Zoro was okay, then he headed back up to the deck with the rest of the crew.

Zoro grabbed a chair and sat close to Iris's cot, brushing some of her hair from her cheek, and whispered in her ear, "You can't die on me now. Not after all this. You don't get to tell me you want to stand at my side and not give me a chance to tell you the same thing." He paused for a second, then placed a light kiss on her temple and leaned against the wall, waiting not quite patiently for her to wake up.

Around dinnertime, Robin entered the infirmary. "It's my turn now. Go up and say hello to everyone. They've been waiting for you but haven't wanted to disturb Iris if she's not ready to wake up yet. You must be hungry; Sanji has a meal waiting for you in the galley," she stated, attempting to cut off every excuse he might think of to stay here and worry. He only scowled in her direction, muttering something about being just fine. "Chopper will want you to eat and start getting your strength back. Hasn't he already told you go up to the deck?"

Zoro grumbled a little bit more but did reluctantly leave his perch beside Iris and exit the infirmary. Robin had brought a book and was reading, and only a brief amount of time had passed when Iris's eyes fluttered open and she took in her surroundings.

"Where am I…" she asked groggily. "Is this… the Thousand Sunny?" She tried to sit up but winced at the pain from her arms, shoulder, abdomen, face, and just about everywhere else.

"Don't push yourself. You're stitched up more than some of the quilts we have in the girls' dorms. How are you feeling?"

Iris turned slowly to look at her, eyes still foggy from exhaustion and confusion. "I'm in a lot of pain. How am I even alive? After we got to the control room, I really realized how much blood I'd lost and how much damage I'd taken. I honestly thought I wasn't going to make it. I had a strange dream…" she trailed off and raised her fingers to her cheek and temple as a faint blush faded onto her cheeks. "Never mind that, though, what's going on? How long have I been out? Has the ship left Liberty Island?"

Robin smiled, it was good to see vitality returning to her; her condition had really been touch and go the past two days keeping Chopper up worried sick, but she defied the odds and was sitting here now, awake and alert. "Well, the harbor's blockaded by the navy, so the freed slaves have occupied the port for the past two days and are protecting the Sunny right now. We've been waiting to leave until some semblance of stability emerges on the island and until you and Zoro woke up. The occupation leader's name is Cobalt, now Luffy-"

"Cobalt's here?!"

"You know him?"

"Yes! He…" Iris wasn't sure how to explain it, she hadn't told anyone about Ivy. She very rarely talked about her sister, especially since her death. "My sister knew him well. I haven't seen him in over a year. Is he okay? Did he fight?"

"I didn't know you had a sister. Yes, he's okay, and yes, he did fight. You certainly have a lot of questions for having just woken up. Why don't I go let the rest of the crew know you're awake? You can ask all of us the questions you have." Iris brightened and nodded enthusiastically; although she wasn't excited about the shape she was in, she very glad to be alive and to discover that she was aboard the Thousand Sunny with the Straw Hats. _Maybe I'll be able to sail out with them after all, if they'll have me,_ she thought with mixed emotions, happy to be with the crew once again but dreading what they would think of her when they found out about Paul.


	12. Chapter 12

On the way up to the deck, Robin ran into Zoro on his way back to the infirmary with a half-eaten sandwich in hand. "You're already headed back there? You've barely been gone half an hour," she commented, an amused smirk on her face.

"Problem with that?" he mumbled through a mouthful of sandwich.

"No, in fact, she just woke up. I was on the way up to get Chopper, I know he'll want to check her dressings and see how she's feeling…" she trailed off as Zoro stopped listening to her and strode down the hall, pitifully attempting to look casual but unable to hide the urgency he was feeling.

"Iris?" he called from the door.

"Zoro! How are you feeling? Robin said you were out cold down here for a while, too," Iris asked. Her heart leapt into her throat, what did Zoro think of her? She hadn't anticipated surviving the battle, now he knew how much she cared about him. Even worse, she was trying to figure out how to tell him and the rest of the crew that she had killed Paul. She was leaning in the direction of not telling them at all. There was no reason to go back to the workshop and if she sailed out with them, she could leave everything about Liberty Island behind; Paul, Cobalt, her sister, all the pain and scars. It could all be a part of her past and she could start to look forward. But even as she neared that decision, a part of her heart still stung. Even if all her hopes came true and the crew found out and understood and were accepting and forgiving, she could never forgive herself for taking a person's life, even if it was Paul's. It would hang over her for the rest of her life.

"I'm doing fine. This is about par for the course when we fight. A little more blood loss than usual, but we pulled through, with Franky's help," he answered, his eyes shining so bright that she had come to. "Now that you're awake, we can sail out. Is there anything left that you need to get here or that you want to do?"

Iris did want to visit her sister's grave and say good-bye before she left. She also wanted to talk to Cobalt; the last time they had seen each other had been heartbreaking and unsettled. "There's a few things I need to do before we leave," she said apprehensively.

"Do you have things left at the workshop?" he asked. "I'll come with you, if you want. I'd like to give Paul a piece of my mind, anyway. I'm going to kick his ass into next week for everything he's done," he said, eyes darkening.

"N-no, that's alright. I don't have anything at the workshop. There's just a grave I want to visit and an old friend I want to talk to. Really, it's alright," she said hastily. Zoro looked deep into her eyes; something wasn't right. Iris was far more anxious about the workshop and Paul than she should be now, she was free and she had plenty of strength to fight him, both of her own and the crew's.

"Iris, what's on your mind? Are you afraid of something still?" he asked.

"N-nothing. Never mind that now. I don't have anything to be afraid of anymore, right? I'm free and I'm with the Straw Hats, right?" she said, plastering a smile on her face.

"You don't have to hide anything anymore, what's going on? You're doing that weird repeating thing and telling me to 'never mind' because there's something you don't want to talk about. Does it have something to do with Paul?" he pushed, afraid she would shut down but sensing that there was something that needed to be brought to light.

Her eyes grew wide in shock and filled with tears, and she turned away. _What do I do? He's going to go to the workshop and find him dead there. I can't lie to my new friends, how am I going to explain this?_ He took her hand, the warmth and surprising gentleness of the contact reassuring to her. She dropped her face down, too ashamed of what she knew she had to say next. "Have you ever done something that you wish with everything you have that you could take back?" she asked softly, barely more than a whisper.

"Haven't we all?" he answered, confused.

A heavy silence hung in the room until Iris couldn't take it anymore. "You can't go kick Paul's ass. No one can anymore," she said, letting the tears fall from her eyes freely. "I killed him, Zoro." She didn't lift her head, too afraid to meet his eyes and find judgment and rejection there. She closed her own eyes and her tears continued to rain down silently, until a large calloused hand cupped her chin and lifted her face up, its thumb brushing away the stream of tears still flowing.

"You wish he was still alive?" Zoro asked in disbelief. "What in the world for?"

Her eyes grew wide again, seeing only empathy and compassion in Zoro's face. "I didn't want to kill him! He attacked me when I went to get my scythes from the workshop and he had me pinned against the bed and I used my scythe to push him off me. The blade was right next to his neck, it took his head off. I was so disgusted I threw up. It still makes me sick that I did that," she said in a rush, sobbing and breathing hard now.

 _Good lord, it wasn't even an execution_ , he thought. _I could even understand that after everything he's done, but this was self-defense._ "Why were you so afraid to tell me what happened?" he asked curiously.

"I'm a murderer. I was so afraid that you all would turn me away, that you wouldn't want me anymore," she cried brokenly.

He studied her face for a minute, his brain trying to piece together why she would ever think that there was anything that she could do that would drive them away from her. "Zoro the Pirate Hunter, remember? You know what I did before I was on this crew?" he asked sadly. She looked at him blankly, she remembered something about the East Blue, come to think of it, the nickname Pirate Hunter didn't really make sense when he was a pirate. "I was a bounty hunter. I killed plenty of criminals just to make money and have something to eat. So I'm in no position to judge you for killing Paul, although even if I were, I don't judge you at all for that," he said. "Whatever reasons we had, it's in the past now. What's done is done and we can't take it back even if we want to. Now all we can do is look forward. Of course we still want you on this ship."

Her tears slowed as she took this information in, and she couldn't find the words to express how grateful she was that they would still want her as a Straw Hat, even with all her flaws and mistakes. Even more moving to her, Zoro understood, in ways she never would have guessed. She had admired him from afar for so long; and it felt like a dream now that they understood each other on such deep levels. She was overjoyed that she could call him a crewmate now. But murdering Paul was still a heavy weight on her heart, and she wasn't sure she would ever be able to rid herself of it.

"Iris?! Is that the other person who's been recovering in the ship?" Cobalt asked, panicked, after Robin had called across the deck to let the rest of the crew know that Iris was awake and Zoro was with her in the infirmary.

"Yeah, she's a blacksmith we met a couple days ago. Zoro had her clean his swords up…" Usopp said, but he hadn't even finished his sentence before Cobalt raced across the deck. He burst through the door to the infirmary and was met with a hostile stare from the Sunny's swordsman.

"You can't just come busting through any door you please on someone else's ship. We've got injured here," Zoro snapped, but Cobalt ignored him completely.

"Iris, what in the hell are you doing here? And what on earth did you get yourself into?" he unleashed, taking full stock of the terrible shape she was in. "Ivy would kill me if she saw you looking like this," he added more quietly, remorse filling his voice. The rest of the Straw Hats filed in behind him, Sanji and Chopper taking up seats next to Iris's cot as well; the chef leery of Cobalt's abrupt intrusion and Chopper wishing to inspect Iris's recovery.

Iris smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck with her only good arm. "Um, well, I met Zoro the other day when he needed a blacksmith, and then…" she paused, not really wanting to talk about the other events involving Paul or the armbands, or really even the battle, but she had to give him something. "Well, a lot of things happened and I fought with the Straw Hats at the trade center before it fell. I guess I got in a little over my head, huh?"

"A little over your…?" Cobalt began to repeat with exasperated eyes, then closed his eyes and sighed, rubbing his temples. "I'm sorry she was so much trouble to you all. I thank you all so much for looking after her, don't worry, I'll take her back to the island to continue whatever care she needs. You've all done far more than is necessary," he said, bowing with overwhelming gratitude, and failing to notice Iris's expression of disappointment at his mention of returning to the island.

Several of the Straw Hats were watching with curiosity and confusion, just as bewildered as Zoro. Before Luffy or the others who had conversed earlier with Cobalt could explain, Sanji and Zoro both looked at each other, then questioningly at Cobalt. "Who are you?"

Cobalt's face flushed, remembering in his fevered concern for Iris he had only spoken with Luffy, Usopp, and Franky, and now he hadn't taken the time to explain to any of the others who he was or how he knew her. "I'm deeply sorry! I'm Cobalt. I knew Iris's sister very well. Iris is like a little sister to me."

"Sister?" both chef and swordsman answered in unison. Iris's anxiety was skyrocketing with each exchange between the three men; her adrenaline was already pumping from telling Zoro about what happened with Paul, now her heart was threatening to thunder right out of her chest. And Cobalt was here, throwing a complete monkey wrench in everything; if the crew was going to learn more about Ivy, then it should really be her to tell them, not him.

"Iris hasn't talked about Ivy?" Cobalt asked blankly. All three looked at her; she was looking down at the blanket across her lap now, arms wrapped around herself and tears beginning to well in her eyes. "I suppose that's not too surprising, after all," he said quietly. "Do you want me to tell them?"

"No, I don't, Cobalt. I don't want to talk about my sister," she said, voice barely a whisper once again. Zoro reached over and rubbed her back gently, earning a wrathful glare from Cobalt which he fiercely returned.

"What do you think you're doing?" Cobalt asked Zoro.

"Comforting a friend who's upset, although I don't understand why she's crying yet. Except that it apparently has something to do with you," he responded, with a challenge in his voice.

Cobalt gritted his teeth. "Get away from her, you have no idea what you're doing," he hissed.

"Stop it, Cobalt!" Iris shrieked, the tears spilling over now, and she began to shake violently. She had been angry before but had never been able to express it; being able to unload on Cobalt's intrusion and his assumption of her care was invigorating, if a bit foreign and frightening. " _You_ have no idea what's happened in the past two days! Or even the past year, so don't try and be all brotherly and protective now! Do me a favor and just get out!"

Cobalt looked at her with shock and insult, until two Straw Hats stood in front of him blocking his view. He met their gazes; Sanji's and Zoro's presences were monstrous and overpowering as their angry eyes seemed to stare straight through him. "You heard her," Zoro growled, "Get out." Cobalt took a few steps back, hurt and humiliated. The remainder of the crew parted, clearing the way for him to leave. Behind them, Iris continued to cry softly. Zoro turned around and sat down next to her cot once again, taking her hand in his. "I won't ask what's going on with him if you don't want to talk about it, but is there anything we can do to help?"

She shook her head and took a few shallow breaths. This was all wrong; she had wanted to reconcile with Cobalt, not have him treat her like a wayward child. "Just… could you all give me a few minutes?" she asked, working hard to calm down. The crew nodded and most turned to go, Zoro hesitating before standing up to follow, but she held on to his hand. "Please… stay?" she asked, a light blush gracing her cheeks, her eyes lost and filled with a deep seated pain that she didn't know how to explain. The color drained from Sanji's face as he overheard Iris ask Zoro to stay but the chef wasn't allowed to protest as Nami grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the infirmary behind her. Zoro smiled sadly at her and sat back down, waiting patiently for her to calm down and organize her thoughts once again; it seemed there was more darkness in her heart that she was having difficulty letting go of, and he knew he was determined to do everything in his power to help her heal her scars and look forward again.


	13. Chapter 13

Several minutes after they were left alone, she took a long, deep breath. "I don't even know where to start with my sister and Cobalt," she said forlornly, her voice was steadier now but tears still continued to rain down her face; her pain was so poignant Zoro thought he'd be able to reach out and touch it if he got too close to her.

"It's okay. Just start wherever you want. I'll figure it out somehow," Zoro said low and gentle. "You don't have to worry about anything here, you're family now," he reassured.

She met his eyes; for once in her life, she had hope that maybe she had found someone she could trust. "Ivy is my sister. She died a year ago, at Paul's hands," she started. "Did Cobalt explain himself and what he does?"

"He told Luffy. He's the undefeated champion of the fighting ring, right? I hadn't met him yet until he showed up down here, though, and he hadn't told any of us how he knew you."

She showed a little relief that she didn't have to explain everything. "Yeah. My sister was a fighter, too. She's the one who taught me to fight. She was almost as good as Cobalt. She was undefeated along with him until two years ago. She and Cobalt… God, where do I start? There's so much to explain about this, and I don't really know how to tell it all," she said, tears filling her eyes once again. He waited patiently for her to compose herself once again, squeezing her hand in reassurance. She took another deep breath and continued.

"Most of us weren't born into slavery; we're all orphans that got rounded up by the slave trade and sold off. Us street kids would band together to avoid getting caught for as long as we could, that's the closest to family any of us have ever had. Cobalt, Ivy and I were together in the same gang. Cobalt and Ivy were caught at the same time, protecting us younger kids, and were sold off into fighting rings. The rest of us were caught a few weeks later. Paul had bought Ivy and came to get a second slave, a servant, a few weeks later. That was me. I was crying and yelling to her from the auction block, he thought it would be amusing to be able to use two sisters against each other. Ivy and Cobalt saw each other pretty often at the fights each week and they were both making a name for themselves and their owners. They fell in love as they got older. But slaves can't marry or be together or anything. They tried to see each other as much as they could, and Cobalt's owner caught them out on a 'date' one night. He suggested that he and Paul pit them against each other in a ring fight. It'd be a big fight; they were both really well known by that point, and once it got out that they were lovers, everyone wanted to see the fight. It was huge. That was two years ago," Iris began to cry quietly again. Ivy's story started out horribly; and it only went downhill from here.

"Cobalt and Ivy fought each other seriously but neither would or could deliver a finishing blow. I was there with Paul, watching. It was a horrible nightmare; I just wanted the whole thing to stop but I couldn't do anything. They loved each other; of course they couldn't they kill each other, and it was so disgusting that everyone thought it was so much fun to watch them hurt each other. The crowd was getting angry; Cobalt was winning and he had let a few chances to finish her off go already, they wanted him to strike her down. He was so miserable; I've never seen someone hurt so much in my life. He knew the fight wouldn't end unless he defeated her. So, instead of killing her, like the crowd wanted, he cut her arm off instead. It ended the fight and it ended her fighting career," she said, voice shaking and barely able to whisper. "Cobalt's owner would've killed him if he wasn't such a good fighter. As it was, he beat him half to death for not killing Ivy. Paul had Ivy start working nights, then. He said there was a 'specialized market' for people like her," she said, eyes reflecting revulsion at what her sister's life turned into. "Cobalt hated himself. He had tried to save her life and protect her from having to fight anymore, but instead she ended up having to do something even worse." Zoro couldn't stop himself anymore, his heart hurt so much for Iris and her sister; he sat next to her on the cot and wrapped his arms around her while she cried. She melted into his arms, welcoming his comfort and concern. He fought back tears of his own, knowing that there was still more to this sad story; Iris hadn't yet said how Ivy died.

"I didn't start working nights until a year ago. Up to then, I had just been Paul's blacksmith, until he started to notice Ivy's customers looking me over, too, when they'd bring her back to the workshop. He ordered Ivy to take me with her one night but she refused. She stood up to him, which is suicide for a slave. He beat her to a pulp and she still said she wouldn't do it. I kept telling her to stop, that I didn't want her to get hurt anymore, and for us to just go, but she stood her ground. Finally, Paul threatened to kill her, and told her to think of her poor baby sister. I think she knew he really would do it, but she refused to listen to him anyway. He grabbed her by the neck and strangled her right in front of me. And he just stood there, laughing his ass off. He told me to go dump her body in the harbor. I took her and buried her on the edge of town," she cried. The color had drained out of her face now, and Zoro knew that for once it had nothing to do with blood loss. "When Cobalt found out what had happened and why, he was destroyed. He couldn't even face me again; he hasn't talked to me since she died. Everything he had tried to do, all the help he had tried to give, all of it was pointless. Just like her death. It didn't change anything, didn't stop anything. Even though she didn't take me to the bars that evening, Paul still made me go. Everything still ended up the same. She left me; she gave up on me. She knew Paul would kill her if she defied him and she did it anyway. And then Cobalt left me, too, because he couldn't face how many things had gotten screwed up or his grief."

She had stopped crying at this point; her face just staring straight ahead, eyes hopeless and dead looking. The brightness, the joy and vitality he had seen when she was with the crew, all of it was gone now. The agony he had sensed every time she had tried to push him or the other Straw Hats away, whenever she smiled through her tears, and every time she had fought through her pain; this is where it started. She was lost and alone, and she felt that somehow, she deserved it. "I'm sorry, Zoro. I feel awful laying all of this on you. I've never talked to anyone about any of this before and I didn't want to hurt anyone with what happened. For the longest time I kept asking why she would leave me alone here, and why Cobalt would, too, and what I figured out is that it's because I don't matter. My story isn't even unique, everyone else on this island has lost someone to something like this. I'm just one fleeting slave, and I'll be forgotten once I'm gone. I've learned the most important thing to do is not hurt anyone with my existence, so I won't let anyone feel responsible for me like I felt responsible for Ivy's death. Somehow I have to show everyone that everything's okay, and no matter what, I can't hurt anyone by anything I do. That's why even though everything's so awful I can't just die. But, dammit, everything's not okay!" she cried out at last, shivering violently and losing control once again.

Zoro gently pulled her into his lap, knowing that Chopper would never forgive him if he damaged Iris's injuries even further, but if he didn't do something to help heal her heart it would destroy her. "Of course everything's not okay," he whispered to her and she sobbed violently with her head on his shoulder. "It doesn't have to be when you're with us. You can't keep carrying this on your own, and you don't have to anymore. You're a Straw Hat now, we'll help you bear this pain until it heals."

The door slowly opened; Chopper, Sanji, and Robin heard Iris's sobs and strained voice and were drawn back to make sure everything was okay. Zoro nodded at them to come in. They filed in slowly and quietly took seats around the infirmary once again. Behind them, he could see Cobalt waiting in the hall, his head turned and saw Iris sitting in Zoro's lap and he grimaced but held his tongue.

"Why did you let them all come in? I don't want anyone to see me like this, I don't want them to be upset about it. They don't need to see my pain," she muttered to him.

"Because we're all your friends and we care. You can keep trying to push us away but it's not going to work," he answered. "Cobalt's out there, too."

She squeezed her eyes shut, embarrassed that her broken heart was now laid out for them all to see, even if they didn't know Ivy's whole story. "What does he want?"

"I don't know. I'm not inside his head. Sanji and I drove him out after you told him to leave," he said.

"You two think you're talking so quietly but I can hear every damn word you're saying," Cobalt called in from the hallway. "Iris, I need to tell you something. Will you let me come in and talk to you?"

Iris looked up at Zoro, her good eye searching his to see if it was safe to let him come in. "It's your choice. And if you want him to leave again at some point, I'll make sure he understands," he reassured her.

"What do you want to tell me, Cobalt?"

He stood up and slowly entered the infirmary, stopping at the foot of the cot, irritated that Zoro was holding her so close but having a greater concern on his mind now. "I need to apologize for everything I've done that's messed things up even more than they were before. From trying to make things better for Ivy and making them worse to abandoning you after she died. I should have been there to protect you and be a brother for you, but I ran away from you and my grief and left you alone. For all of it, I'm truly sorry. I won't ask for your forgiveness, because I don't expect or deserve it. But I want you to know how much I regret what happened to you and Ivy," he said, too ashamed to look her in the eye.

She watched him for several minutes with stony eyes; her pain was still raw and stinging, but his apology and remorse were almost as comforting as Zoro's arms. Almost. "Cobalt, of course I forgive you. I can't let the past stand between me and the only family I've got left. Ivy would be disappointed," she answered softly.

Cobalt looked at her with disbelieving but grateful eyes then sat down next to her and Zoro on the cot. "Come back to the island. We can start to rebuild everything and I'll watch over you and make sure you heal up right," he smiled hopefully, holding out a hand, eager to reconcile his relationship with his little sister. Zoro's eyes narrowed and he tightened his hold on Iris a little more. The tension between Zoro and Cobalt began to build again until Cobalt challenged him. "What's your problem? That's my sister you're smothering there. I'd appreciate it if you let her go. She doesn't need you or whatever you think you feel for her." Iris's face flashed red that he would call Zoro out so forwardly.

The other crew members in the infirmary watched Cobalt and Zoro hesitantly; Zoro's eyes blazed with anger and they knew how quickly and dangerously this exchange could deteriorate if Cobalt pushed the wrong buttons. "I'll let her go when she wants me to, not because you ask me to. You don't get to tell me what to do any more than you get to tell her what to do. And I know exactly how I feel about her, so don't you worry your pea brain about that," he retorted. Iris's eyes grew wide and her heart started to thump wildly; Zoro cared about her? Like she cared about him? She had felt a growing connection to him while they had been talking, but she hadn't dared to hope that it was anything more than just as his new crew member. And Cobalt didn't like it and wanted to be a brother to her again, and what was she supposed to do here? Her eyes blurred as she tried to sort out her feelings and her confusion.

"Please stop it," she whispered out. Their attention was pulled to the red haired patient still sitting in Zoro's lap, clinging to his shoulder. "Both of you, please stop. I don't know what to think or feel anymore, but I know you two fighting just makes everything worse."

"Then let's not fight. Let's talk. Zoro needs to know a few things, man to man," Cobalt steadied his voice and glanced around the room looking for objection, and, seeing none, turned back to Zoro and Iris. Zoro met his determined expression with one equally as strong, wondering what role this man played in Iris's life and trying to figure out how much Cobalt really cared, after he had seen Iris's initial reaction to him. If he continued to hurt her, Zoro had no qualms about throwing him overboard, or worse.


	14. Chapter 14

"I'm fine with that, if she is," Zoro answered, eyes still narrowed and suspicious. "You better know that I won't flinch for a second to cut you down if I think something you say or do is going to hurt Iris," he warned.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing," Cobalt said, continuing his glare and gathering his thoughts. "You and the rest of the Straw Hats have given us all a wonderful gift we never dreamed about ever having. You gave us freedom. But freedom is power, right?"

Zoro didn't respond, skeptically curious as to where he was going with this, giving Cobalt the opportunity to continue. "Like any power, one has to learn how to use and master it. If I gave you your sniper's slingshot, would you be able to draw out its full power? Likewise, say I gave your swords to your ship's cook, would he be able to wield them as efficiently as you? I highly doubt it. You've each trained to use your power and master it more and more over the years. Freedom's no different. To a slave who's never experienced freedom, it's a very foreign power. Very few of us, save for the fighters, have any clue what freedom truly is and what it really means."

"Why the fighters?" Zoro jumped in.

"Because we already have our combat power. It's that power that enabled Ivy to stand up to Paul. What gave me the strength to keep Ivy alive. We may not know freedom, but we know what power feels like, and what kind of responsibility it carries. All you strong pirates on this ship, surely you know what I'm talking about?"

Zoro was quiet for several moments as he processed what Cobalt was talking about and what it had to do with Iris. "You think we can't teach Iris what being free is all about?"

"I'm saying she doesn't know how to be free, and even now, she still isn't in her own mind. All she's ever known is to follow the strongest person around and obey. You keep qualifying all your choices with 'if that's what she wants,' or some variation. But she has no idea what she wants; she's only been choosing what she thinks she's supposed to want. Does that make any sense to you?"

Zoro looked at Iris, who looked tired, confused, and broken, and not the least bit irritated that Cobalt was talking about her like she wasn't even there, even though it was driving him crazy. It occurred to him that Cobalt was awfully presumptuous to think that he knew anything about her when he hadn't talked to her in a year. But it was possible that Cobalt was thinking the exact thing about him, as he had just met Iris only several days ago; but so much had happened in that short amount of time. They had literally been at the brink of death and returned together. "Iris? What do you think about what he's saying?" he asked her. She needed to be a part of this conversation, whether she wanted to be or not.

"I-I don't know, Zoro. What am I supposed to think?" she looked up at him, lost.

"Proves my point. Let me take her back to the island. She needs to be with me, her only remaining family, so she can figure out who she is. Just like thousands of other slaves here on this island."

Zoro didn't look back at him; instead he only continued to look in her eyes, searching them for what he knew was there. The affection he had seen the night he, Sanji, and she all slept in the galley; the joy when he invited her to sail out on the Thousand Sunny; the concern that had only been focused on him and the crew after Paul had beaten her in the street; the awe and gratitude when the Straw Hats had marched off to the trade center; the loyalty there when she came to him in battle to fight to the death with him. "You're wrong," he said resolutely, still watching her eyes. "She already knows who she is and what she wants. What she lacks is someone to believe in who can make things turn out right. And I'm going to show her that the Straw Hats can all be that someone," he said, smiling as he saw clarity returning to her eyes, although still tinged with doubt. "Iris, who do you want to go with? Me or Cobalt?"

"You can't ask her that, she's only going to choose who she thinks is strongest because she doesn't want to risk someone's anger! If she makes the strongest one happy, then there's a better chance that the strong one will protect her from the retaliation of the weaker one. That's the logic of a slave; I know because I've used it!" Cobalt spat back angrily, frustrated that Zoro didn't appear to be listening to him, and even more worried that she would choose Zoro for the wrong reasons because she thought the swordsman was far stronger than he was. Whether or not that was true, he really didn't want to consider, but he didn't want to lose her to him either way.

The two men glared at each other for several minutes until they were surprised when Iris broke the silence. "Yeah, that's slave logic, all right. And, you're right, Cobalt, I've used that for a long time, just like you and the rest of the slaves have. What other choice did we have? But," she paused, all heads in the room watching her expectantly, "what if I'm the strong one now?" He looked at her with bewilderment, and the room was so quiet the occupants could have heard a pin drop. "What if I choose to follow myself? My heart? Won't that help me understand who I am and what I want?" His jaw dropped open; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. She sat up, away from the comforting warmth of Zoro's arms and chest, facing Cobalt with steady eyes now; Zoro only grinned as she once again found the strength that he knew she had always possessed. Iris continued to speak, "And if I follow my heart, then I'm following it to this ship. I've never been happier than I have in the past few days I've spent here with the Straw Hats," she finished, voice even and firm, eyes dry finally.

Cobalt's disbelief continued, was she still just saying what she thought Zoro wanted to hear? But that was an awfully convincing argument even if she was; even he wanted to believe it, and wouldn't be surprised if she, in fact, believed the words she was saying as well. He doubted what he believed about her now, would that be such a bad thing if she believed her words were true? Isn't that what he wanted her to discover about herself anyway? He turned away from her confident stare, uncertain and unsure how to argue with her, and slowly he realized he had been defeated in this argument of philosophy. "So you're choosing the pirates?" he finally asked, face stoic and eyes intently studying the pattern in the wood floor of the infirmary.

"It is my choice, isn't it?"

He closed his eyes, what would Ivy say about her sister becoming a pirate? He needed to watch out for her, for her sister's sake. Could he trust these pirates to protect as closely as he would, now that he had stopped running away from his grief? "And you're choosing them because this is where you feel like home is?" She nodded resolutely, only broadening Zoro's smug grin. He counted the floorboards underneath his feet, wholly uncertain about her decision but having no choice but to follow her faith. "Zoro," he started, still not looking back in their direction, "If something happens to her, if she dies or is disfigured in some way, I promise you that I will hunt you to the ends of the earth and kill you myself. I'm trusting you to protect her for every moment that she spends with this crew. I don't want to, but Iris isn't giving me a choice," he frowned with a doubt riddled voice.

"I'd expect no less from a good brother," Zoro said, accepting his terms, but he still wasn't able to hide the arrogance in his voice from Iris proving him right by demonstrating how strong she really was. He held his hand out, and Cobalt reluctantly took it, shaking in agreement and understanding.

Iris sighed. "I'm hungry. And everything hurts. I want things to go back to what they were like the other night when everyone was goofing off upstairs in the galley. All this serious stuff takes too much energy. Are we done here now?" she asked, tired of her heart feeling so heavy and wanting the light atmosphere that she knew of the Straw Hats and the Thousand Sunny to come back.

Zoro smiled at her warmly. "Yeah, we're done here now. Wanna go up to the deck?" he asked.

Iris didn't get a chance to answer before Chopper interrupted. "She can't go up yet. First of all, I need to change her bandages and check her stitches. Second of all, between her shoulder and her leg she can't really move around yet. I'm sorry, Iris, but your recovery's going to take a little while," he said.

"We've got crutches, don't we?" Zoro asked, confused and disappointed that Iris was bound to the infirmary for the time being.

"Do you ever listen? She can't use crutches with her arm in a sling," Sanji shot back at him.

"Actually, my shoulder feels pretty good," she said, and everyone looked to see that she had removed the sling and was testing out how stiff it was, pleased that it seemed to be working much better than she had hoped.

Chopper looked frustrated. "Not another one…" he muttered. "I'm the doctor here! Does anyone listen to anything I say? Get out, all of you," he ordered in exasperation. Zoro moved Iris back to the cot and smiled at her devilishly before exiting the infirmary with Sanji, Robin, and Cobalt; she blushed fiercely watching him leave and wondering what he was thinking about. His smoldering smile caused her face to heat up and her heart thump wildly, both of which she willed quickly to go away, and then wondered why. He cared about her like she cared for him, didn't he? But how much? "I'm at least going to change the dressings and check the stitches before you go do something stupid. There's crutches underneath the cot, if you insist on being reckless. Watch the stitches in your stomach and back when you're moving around, those will be the most likely to rip out," he said, thoroughly annoyed that there was now another crew member who wouldn't heed a single piece of medical advice he had to offer. Iris smiled and chuckled, overjoyed that she had survived the battle and had returned from almost certain death to join the Straw Hats on their adventures. She was giddy that she had been able to grow closer to Zoro as well, and she was thrilled to have the opportunity to reconcile with Cobalt, too.

After Chopper's treatment, she retrieved the crutches from under the cot and headed up to the deck. The warm sunshine felt marvelous on her face and she took in the sight of the crew packing the ship up and getting ready to set sail and civilians relaxing all over the Sunny. She giggled, she was surprised that the navy hadn't intervened yet, but what could they really do? Even the world government wouldn't be able to condone any forceful actions taken against the newly freed slaves; the public would view it as too oppressive.

"Well, that's everything, right? I think we're ready to go," Usopp called across the deck.

"Wait!" Iris intervened. "Before we go, I want to visit my sister's grave one last time. It will be a very long time before we ever come back here, won't it?" she asked, looking around at her new crewmates.

Zoro came up next to her. "Yeah, I'm going to take her over there. We won't be gone long."

"Don't let him out of your sight. He could get lost in the pantry," Nami snickered. Zoro only scowled at her. Iris turned and headed towards the gangplank, only to stumble trying to crutch it down the narrow wood slats. Zoro caught her before she fell into the water just in the nick of time. Before she could even realize what he was doing, she was on his back and he was carrying her piggyback.

"If you get hurt anymore while I've taken you off the ship, Chopper'll kill me," he joked. "So we're just going to have to go this way. Now, where to?"

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, feeling warm and lightheaded being so close to him once again. "Take a right at the end of the dock. We'll be headed towards the industrial district," she smiled brightly as they set off down the boardwalk. "No, right, Zoro. Right! Your other right!" she said, slightly exasperated but more amused than anything, and giggled at the embarrassed scowl that covered his face once again as he finally headed in the correct direction.


	15. Chapter 15

Zoro and Iris quickly made their way through the industrial district to the edge of town, where Ivy's makeshift grave lay a little ways into the trees, crudely marked with a homemade cross. Zoro let Iris down gently and offered her crutches back to her and she sat down awkwardly next to the grave, nostalgia filling her face.

"Ivy, it's been a while, hasn't it? It's hard to get out to come see you when Paul's had me working two jobs. A lot has happened in a year. Scratch that, a lot has happened in the past week. I kind of gave up on life until recently. But I couldn't just die, because of you," she said, voice steady but tears filling her eyes. "I've never said it to you, but I was so hurt when you left me. I miss you more than you'll ever know. Cobalt left me, too. Please forgive him, you know how much this life hurts. He couldn't bear his grief for you, and you were all he could see when he looked at me. He still can't get over losing you. But watch over him, please. Help him heal and look forward again. This island's full of promise now," she continued, smiling through the final tears that began to dry on her cheeks. "A group of pirates brought hope to us again. You'll never guess who," she giggled, "It's the Straw Hats. They freed Liberty Island. I know you're jealous, I got to meet Sanji and Zoro, and what's more, they want me to sail with them. I'm going to be a Straw Hat, too."

She paused then, solemnity crossing her face once again. "Ivy, thank you for watching over me for as long as you did. Thank you for teaching me to fight and be strong. I would've have died a long time ago without you, no doubt. I really would have been the pointless life I thought I was until now. I'll come back to see you again someday, but it will be a while. You won't see me again until we've found the One Piece." She hesitated, then said her final words. "Good-bye, Ivy. Please rest peacefully, I've finally found a family and a home," she said, smiling broadly, the scars of her heart beginning to heal as she finally told her sister what had long been on her mind. She started to use a crutch to stand up clumsily, and Zoro helped her up to her feet.

"Are you ready to go now?" he asked softly. She nodded enthusiastically, casting one last look back to her sister's grave and began to hobble back towards the industrial district but was stopped by a strong hand gripping one of the crutches. "No walking for you, not even the crutches. I'll help you back to the ship," he said sternly.

"I'm okay, Zoro. I'm not on the gangplank now," she smiled but he still wouldn't let go of the crutch.

"I'm serious, Iris. I'm not letting you walk back to the ship," he said, the swordsman's green eye meeting the blacksmith's. "I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt again before we even get back to the ship. Even if it is just tripping on the sidewalk or getting worn out halfway there," he said quietly. "I've had enough of seeing you get hurt over the past few days. It's been too much."

Iris's face flushed; it was the most awkward but romantic thing she had ever heard. She turned her blushing cheeks away, trying to focus on how green the grass was beneath her feet. "Zoro, I don't know what to say to that. You know I love you but I-"

Iris's eyes widened and she wasn't allowed to finish her sentence as Zoro's lips captured hers in a kiss, one arm wrapped strongly around her waist and the other gently holding her face. He licked her lips cautiously and she let him in; a smile blossoming across her face as the feeling of being in his arms, the taste of his kiss, and the unconditional warmth and understanding of their spirits felt completely euphoric. She wanted the moment to last forever, but they had to break for air far too quickly. It could have been seconds, it could have been minutes, but eternity wouldn't have been long enough for her. He rested his forehead against hers, and whispered, "I love you, too. Is that alright? No more last minute confessions when you think you're going to die, no more whispers while you're unconscious and I don't know if you'll wake up, just 'I love you.' And can I say that to you whenever I want?" he asked.

She giggled, then looked into his eye, then giggled again. "I'm sorry, Zoro, I don't mean to be so silly. It's just that this feels like a dream, and I'm just hoping that I never wake up. And you can say that to me forever as long as I get to tell you the same thing," she said, still smiling broadly.

He matched her radiant smile with one just as bright. "All right, we really should get back to the ship, then. Ready?" She nodded and allowed him to help her onto his back once more, resting her head on his shoulder and allowing herself to be enveloped by the strength and warmth of his presence as they headed back to the harbor. Her eyes were closed when she felt him stop; she opened them and saw that they were standing in front of the workshop. The front door was wide open; in her absence and in the wake of Paul's death, it had been robbed. The windows were broken, most of the weapons were gone, and the soot and dirt were swirling around in the haziness of the industrial district. She could see the silhouette of Paul's head still lying on the floor in the far interior of the building.

She grimaced, "Why did you stop here? Let's just go back to the ship. I never want to come here ever again," she said, voice full of shame and sorrow.

"As long as this place stands, there's still a reminder in this world of everything that's hurt you, right?" he said, turning his head and meeting her eye with sincerity.

She gazed back with guarded skepticism and curiosity, until she noticed familiar shadows appearing from alleys and doorways around them. One by one, the Straw Hats gathered around them, accompanied by Cobalt. "Zoro talked to us while Chopper was checking you over after you woke up, and we've already decided. We're destroying this place so that there's nothing left of your past to hold you back. You're the Straw Hat's blacksmith now, and nothing else," Nami said earnestly as Sanji and Robin lit a torch while Usopp and Franky loaded the shack with gasoline. Luffy took the torch and threw it into one of the broken windows, and a fire rapidly spread throughout the little building, quickly burning every last horrific memory and twinge of pain associated with the abhorrent place.

Zoro carefully let Iris slide off his back and wrapped an arm around her waist to help her stand; watching her as she stood next to him gaping at the blaze with a hand over her mouth, and silent tears streamed down her face. "Thank you," she choked out before her voice broke and sobs began to wrack her body; Zoro wrapped her completely in his arms as the group of eleven continued to watch the workshop fall to pieces in the flames. A small smile crossed his face; these were tears of joy for once, not of sorrow and pain. "You have no idea how much this means to me," she said, smiling through the tears on her face and glancing at each of the crew members with appreciation radiating from her face. Zoro's smile broadened; if he had been able to feel her heart beginning to heal after visiting Ivy's grave, he could virtually see it becoming whole once again watching the home of all her hurt and pain blaze gloriously away. "I can't thank you all enough for doing this for me," she said gratefully, finally able to forgive herself and let go of everything horrible that had happened at the workshop, beginning with Ivy's death and ending with Paul's murder. The Straw Hats truly accepted her, flaws and all, and her past did not matter one bit to them.

"Is there anything else that you want to do before we set sail then?" Nami asked quietly, but excitement and anticipation of their next adventure reflected in her eyes, as it was in the other crew members'. Iris shook her head; the crew's excitement was contagious and filled her own heart, and under the watchful eyes of her new crewmates, she used the crutches to return with them to the Thousand Sunny.

Upon arriving at the dock, Cobalt couldn't help but dampen the mood with a reminder of their current situation. "I don't want to be a downer, but you're not out of the woods yet. The navy's still waiting for their chance to strike as soon as you all set sail. The fishing boats will get you safely out of the harbor, but you'll still have to figure out a way to escape the battleships once we've gotten you out there."

"Fight or escape, it's all the same to me. Captain, what do you want to do?" Zoro said casually. Cobalt glared at him with wide eyes. "What?" Zoro questioned in the same nonchalant manner, noticing Cobalt's exasperation.

"Can you show a little bit more concern about the navy wanting to kill you all? Especially now that my sister-"

Iris cut him off with a sharp tone. "Say 'my sister' one more time! Say it! I dare you," she challenged and was answered with a cowed silence from Cobalt. "I'm a pirate now. Are you going to worry about me every time you see my name in the papers?" she asked in irritation, hobbling up face to face with Cobalt. "I'm strong! The Straw Hats believe in me, and more importantly, I believe in myself! Why can't you?"

His eyes widened in his silence and he hesitated before he answered. "I'm sorry, Iris. It's just that, I finally got the chance to apologize to you for Ivy's death, and now you're leaving me so quickly. It's hard to accept," he said, eyes darkened and swallowing noticeably.

"Are you…" she hesitated, not wanting to embarrass him, but finding it difficult to believe herself. Cobalt was a champion fighter; his daily life was a battle for survival and his skin had been toughened considerably over the years out of necessity. "Are you crying, Cobalt?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around her suddenly, letting the tears fall freely now. Iris winced briefly from his sudden display of concern, arousing Zoro's alarm, but Iris didn't push him away. "Is it so wrong to worry about you and care about the person I should have protected a long time ago? And wish that you wanted me to be the one to protect you now? But I've missed my chance to be brotherly, like you said. You've grown up and you're making your own choices now. Please, dear God, be careful. I won't be able to live with myself if something happens to you, too," he sputtered, tears slowing now that he had spoken everything on his heart and he held her shoulders at arm's length to look her full in the face. "I do believe in you and your strength; it's just hard to let go. But," he continued, looking at the group of pirates standing behind them, "you're with good people. And strong people. I know how much you've wanted something like this, and I couldn't have prayed for a better future for you," he admitted. "Please take good care of her."

Luffy grinned in response. "She's one of us now. We'll never let go of her or let her die. I swear," he said resolutely.

Cobalt felt reassured, finally, and although still afraid for Iris's safety, Luffy's confidence had a way of putting his mind at ease. "All right then, ready your ship. Everyone! Load up the fishing boats! The Straw Hats are going to set sail! Keep as close to their ship as possible. The navy will take advantage of any distance between us that they can."

The Straw Hats, including Iris, headed back up the gangplank. Zoro helped Iris get comfortable underneath the tree on the deck, then went to assist Usopp and Sanji unfurl the sails. Nami took her place at the helm with Franky and Robin, and Luffy sat on top of the lion's head, eager to greet whatever the marines would try to throw at them.

Iris crossed her arms and grumbled underneath the tree, and Chopper came over to join her. "What's wrong, Iris? Aren't you happy to be going out to sea?"

"Of course I am! That's why I'm pissed that I can't fight like this. I'd be able to hold my scythes, but I can't move with my leg busted up like this. And, I hate to admit it, Chopper, but I probably should have left my arm in the sling for a little while longer," she said, slightly embarrassed.

"Well, at least you admit that it doesn't go well when you don't take my advice. Zoro should be dead for all the times he's gotten up to fight before his wounds have healed properly. Luffy and Sanji, too. Something about those three isn't human, I swear," Chopper rambled. Iris chuckled; hearing about her new crewmates warmed her heart and made her feel even more excited about sailing the high seas on the Thousand Sunny. Chopper watched her smile, and found himself smiling along with her. "You're going to stay here while we protect the ship, aren't you? Please don't try to fight, I don't want to put you back together again."

"Fine, fine, I'll let you all handle it. If I'm honest with myself, I know I'd just get in the way right now, anyway. I'll have to wait until the next battle, I suppose," she said with a sigh of frustration.

"Don't worry, you'll have plenty of opportunities, I'm sure," he said, grinning, then he headed over to the railing with Brook to scope out the naval situation. Iris waited for a few minutes more; then couldn't help herself and hobbled on her crutches up to the railing with them. She had resigned herself to not fighting, but she did want to see what was going on, much to Zoro's alarm. "I'm not fighting! I swear! I just want to see what we're facing," she called across the deck in response to his worried scowl. A half dozen navy battleships stood between the Thousand Sunny and the open sea now, and surrounding the ship were about a dozen and a half fishing boats manned by the former slaves, Cobalt standing at the fore of the largest in front.

"Citizens of Liberty Island! Turn your ships back! We need to escort that pirate ship to Navy Headquarters in the name of justice," a bull horn sounded from the leading battleship.

Cobalt cupped a hand to his ear, then looked around to the other fishing ships. Iris heard him yell out to the other crew members. "You hear something? It's so breezy out here today I can't hear a thing but the waves and the wind," he yelled, winking up at Iris. She, Chopper, and Brook giggled; Cobalt played the role of innocent bystander so well.

"Fishing ships! We'll ask you once more, turn around and head back into the harbor! That ship is full of notorious pirates, and we need to bring them to justice!" the bullhorn yelled again. Cobalt looked as if he were straining to hear the marine calling to them, then shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as the unusual armada began to pass through the fleet of battleships.

"This is your final warning! Abandon that pirate ship and turn back! If you fail to obey our command, we'll have no choice but to fire on you as well as accomplices to the Straw Hats!" the commander with the bullhorn yelled at last.

Cobalt turned to the Sunny. "Sorry, Straw Hat! Looks like this is where we need to part ways! I don't have any cannons down here to help you fight!"

Luffy waved down to him as the fishing ships broke away from the Sunny to turn back to the harbor and the other crew members adjusted the sails to pick up speed and flee the waiting battleships. "Thanks for the help! You've done more than you needed to, anyway! Keep watch over Liberty Island for us!"

Iris hobbled to the back of the ship and looked back at Liberty Island. She could feel the breeze on the back of her neck picking up as the Sunny prepared to run from the navy. She watched the fishing boats recede into the distance, then saw a flag rising at the dock. She smiled broadly as the Straw Hat's Jolly Roger waved in the breeze, in blatant mockery of the navy. She could only smile for a few moments, however, as cannon fire began to fill the air and shake the ship. Their battle to escape had begun at last.


	16. Chapter 16

Iris stumbled, then caught herself on her crutches as cannon fire splashed in the water around the ship, rocking it back and forth. "Damn! I better get back down to the deck quick or I'll fall overboard. If I died from something as stupid as that, Zoro'd kill me," she giggled to herself before carefully making her way back down to the tree on deck, settling down as comfortably as she could on her own. She glanced to the fore of the ship again, bracing herself against the tree as the ship rocked tenuously back and forth. At the lion's head stood Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, calmly waiting for cannon fire to aim just a little too close to the ship. Sure enough, a cannonball soon came flying towards the mainsail, only to be rocketed back towards the warships by the Straw Hats' inflated captain.

Sanji caught the next one, casually redirecting the cannonball into the nearest warship with a perfectly timed kick. Zoro's swords dismantled the next one, slicing it cleanly in half, each piece falling uselessly into the waves around the Sunny. Iris couldn't help but smile. She had seen her new crew in action back on Liberty Island; then and now, when using their strength, they were truly in their element.

"Franky, we about ready to go?" Iris overheard Nami say to the cyborg, who nodded and then disappeared below deck. Zoro's face grew alarmed, realizing what their final plan for escape was.

 _Go? Aren't we going already?_ Iris thought curiously. Zoro quickly appeared at her side. "You're going to want to hold on to something," he said with a slight frown, sheathing his swords.

Iris smiled and blushed, and asked quietly, "Can I just hold on to you?"

He sat down next to her by the tree and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her close to him. "I was hoping you'd say that," he responded in a low voice, returning her playful smile.

"Although, exactly what am I holding on for?"

"You'll see soon enough."

Iris soon felt a rumbling coming from the interior of the ship and her eyes grew wide witnessing what occurred next. A loud blast erupted from the rear of the ship, and a gust of wind whipped through her hair as the ship gained altitude, flying through the air and rocketing rapidly away from the navy warships and the cannon fire. She laughed out loud, "Coup de Burst! Of course!" Zoro watched her as she took in the sight of the battleships below; her smile and laugh warming his heart once again, and he couldn't believe how happy he was that they had gotten her away from her hell and given her a family, freedom, and a home.

Within a few weeks, Chopper graduated Iris's leg out of the cast and crutches and into a walking cast. She still wasn't able to move around easily or train and fight, as much as she wanted to. Iris was looking forward to training with Zoro most. Bandages still wrapped around her arms and the majority of her face; the two areas that had suffered the most extensive damage, and the wounds to her torso were still sensitive as well. Periodically, Chopper let Iris remove the walking cast entirely and let her leg air out and stretch.

"God, the sunshine feels good," Nami said, reclining atop the galley with the other two girls.

"You have no idea what good feels like until you've had your leg in various casts for four weeks and can finally stretch it out," Iris said snidely, and the two girls exchanged challenging grins.

"You're healing up well, though, Iris. Much more quickly than Chopper thought you would," Robin commented, breaking up a growing friendly argument.

"I won't agree with that until I can walk again. The hobbling around is getting old," Iris said. Out of the blue, quite literally, a soft but heavy object landed on top of her head. "What the hell is this?" she asked, irritated, before unraveling the bundle of paper.

"My newspaper!" Nami exclaimed. Iris handed it over; the only thing more exciting for the navigator than reading her weekly news was a good shopping spree. "Hey, there's new wanted posters this week!"

The rest of the crew gathered around now, eager to see if their bounties had gone up and comparing their reputations with other notorious pirate crews. Zoro was flipping through several when he stopped on one in particular, a broad grin spreading across his face before handing the poster to Iris. "Look at this," he said, barely containing his excitement.

"69 million! Iris… the Reaper?" Iris said cautiously, a smirk crossing her face as well. Chopper and Luffy looked on in wonder, eyes sparkling at her 'cool' nickname. She giggled, and the other Straw Hats smiled along with her. "I really am a pirate now, huh? I've got a bounty and all."

"And pretty good one at that," Zoro said proudly, studying the photo behind her. Someone in the navy had snapped a wonderful shot of her perched on the window sill at the trade center with a smug grin on her face and her scythe raised above her head as marines cowered beneath her. Iris smiled, then leaned back and watched the clouds pass above her, listening to the wind and the waves. She had always dreamed of freedom, what slave wouldn't? But her expectations of what freedom would be like could never have lived up to the adventure and family she had found with the Straw Hats.

As the weeks passed, Iris slowly but surely was able to start training again, and was delighted to train with Zoro in the crow's nest; the swordsman picking up her Haki training right where Ivy had left off. Even as he tried to keep it light due to her injuries she still wasn't able to win once, but the exercise with him was exhilarating none the less, save for a nagging thought that she wasn't as strong as she once was. She was struggling to regain that strength as well, and her frustration with that gnawed at her more and more as the days wore on. She began to train less and less as their travels continued, her strength lagging even further behind; her avoidance did not escape Zoro's notice, but he had no idea how to confront her about it or even what was bothering her so much. Her Haki training had been going well; why now was she pushing it away? Finally, they arrived at a small fall island somewhere in the middle of nowhere. It was Iris's first trip off the ship since joining the Straw Hats; her injuries keeping her bound to the ship on their previous few stops for supplies. Now, the wounds to her torso had closed completely and she could walk well with just a slight limp. The only bandages left wrapped around her face and arms, where the most structural and exterior damage had occurred. Nami was ecstatic to take her shopping, and the three girls set off for the afternoon for fun and extraneous spending.

When they arrived back on the ship late in the evening overloaded with bags of boots, skirts, dresses, and all manner of accessories, Chopper stopped her and brought her to the infirmary; this particular evening, as Chopper worked to change the dressings, he made an observation. "I don't think you need to keep everything bandaged up any longer. The surgical damage to your face has closed, I can take the stitches out now. And your arms have a good base of scar tissue forming, getting some fresh air will help them finish healing properly.

Iris looked down at her arms. Awful scars covered her arms where the armbands had once been clasped around her wrists; grafting skin from her legs had created patchwork lines all around her forearms. Glancing in the mirror, she saw that her face wasn't much better; a spider web of scars branched out around her right eye, covering the majority of her right cheek and forehead. Her green eyes peering out through the damage only contrasted with the dark scar tissue, making it appear that much darker. "Iris, what's wrong? Your wounds are healing really well. You won't have any permanent damage, except for the scars," Chopper reassured her.

Tears formed in her eyes, and she hastily wiped them away. This was just the final straw on the failure she felt she had become. She couldn't fight well any longer, she was weak; and now she was scarred both inside and out. "This is going to sound stupid, Chopper. I should just be glad I'm alive. But," she hesitated, her breath catching in her throat. "I look like a Frankenstein monster. Look at this, I look all pieced together," she said, a frown crossing her face.

"Well, I did have to piece you together. But I think the scars make you look really cool. You really do look like Iris the Reaper," he encouraged hopefully.

Iris appreciated the intention behind his words and she forced a smile across her face, but the last thing she wanted to hear was that her perception of what she looked like was accurate. She thanked Chopper and left the infirmary, unsure of what to do next. It would be dinnertime soon, but she wasn't very hungry right now, and she didn't want to show her face to the crew, quite literally. For the time being, she headed to her room, although to do what she wasn't sure. She pulled a book from the shelf that Robin had loaned her; she read three pages before she realized she couldn't recall a single thing she had just read. She put the book down and sighed, then drew her legs up into her chest and cried softly for a good while, until she heard a knock at the door. "Iris?" a gruff swordsman's voice called through the door. She wiped her face, then got up to answer the door, but stopped. Of all people, she didn't want Zoro to see her face or her arms like this. She had been avoiding thinking about how she would show the crew her scars, much less him; now she was face to face with it and she panicked. "Iris, I know you're in there because you're nowhere else on the ship. Please answer me. The damn love cook nearly had a stroke that you skipped dinner," she heard him call again.

"I'm fine, Zoro, really. I just wasn't hungry. I'll be out later, really," she tried to reassure him through the door, but the doorknob turned and he entered. Her heart seized in her chest. "What are you doing? I didn't tell you to come in!" she turned quickly, wrapping her arms in front of her and shielding her face.

"That repeating thing? It's a dead giveaway when you're upset. What's wrong?" he said, coming around to her side and resting a hand on her back. She let her hair hang in her face, and tried to pull away when he reached to turn her towards him. "Chopper said you're free and clear of the bandages now. I've missed seeing both of your eyes, let me see them again," he asked gently, a smile crossing his face. She pulled away earnestly this time, and hurt crossed his face.

"Zoro, just go away for now," she whispered, trying to hide the tears falling from her eyes and she turned away from him to go sit back on her bed. He stood motionless in the center of her room, bewildered as to why she was being so cold to him now. "Didn't you hear me? Go away," she mumbled, pulling her knees up once again and burying her face with her arms wrapped around her legs. Instead of leaving, she heard the swordsman approach the bed. "Zoro, honestly, why aren't you-"

She stopped, frozen in panic as she felt his hands tracing the scars on her arms; in her efforts to hide her face she had forgotten to hide her arms from him. She raised her head slightly to see his reaction, and his face nearly broke her heart. His eyes were darkened and his face had grown pale as he contemplated the scars on her arms. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I know I hurt you very deeply, and I understand if you can't forgive me. I'll go now," he said, before swallowing hard and turning to leave.

She couldn't believe the words that had left his mouth; she remained frozen, no longer out of panic but of shame. But the words she wanted to say wouldn't form in her mind and couldn't leave her mouth, and before she knew it he was gone and the door was shut behind him. Her heart broke into pieces. _It's better this way, you know,_ a bitter voice echoed in the back of her mind. _Your face and your arms only reflect how broken you are from the inside out. You're not strong enough anymore, you're not beautiful anymore. He deserves better, and you know it._ Iris buried her head in her pillow to muffle the sobs that wracked her body; the one rule she had lived by was not to let anything she said or did hurt anyone. His worry and concern for her wouldn't go away if he continued to stand by her side, especially now that she was a monster; better to hurt him briefly than let him live his life tied down in misery. She let herself fall asleep in a pool of tears in her room alone, resolving to face the crew the following morning with a false sense of strength regarding her irreparable scars.

The next morning was awkward at breakfast, to say the least. Chopper, Usopp, and Luffy all encouraged Iris, saying that her new scars made her look tough and were very pirate-like. Iris smiled through their compliments, hiding the hurt caused by the frequent mention of her scars. The more observant members of the crew, Nami, Robin, Zoro, and Sanji, only let the others talk excitedly throughout the meal, each making their own mental notes of what Iris might be truly feeling and thinking. As soon as Zoro was done eating, he dumped his dishes in the sink and exited the galley without a word. Nami and Robin exchanged glances of concern, but as the food ran out, Sanji ushered everyone out of the kitchen, save for Iris, asking her to stay and help him with the dishes.

They washed and dried for several minutes before Sanji ventured to break the silence, and to Iris's dismay, delved right into the heart of her pain. "How are you feeling about the scars?" he asked quietly. Tears brimmed in her eyes again, and she nearly dropped the plate she was drying because she couldn't see clearly. "You don't have to answer, I kind of got the feeling that you were upset about it," he said comfortingly. "Where's the moss-head? Hasn't he been trying to cheer you up?"

She let out a labored sigh; holding back her tears and sobs was becoming more and more difficult with each passing moment. "Yes and no. I don't want to talk to him. The scars on my arms are his fault," Iris said softly, hoping that Sanji didn't see through her ruse of playing up his involvement in the creation of her scars to downplay her dismay at looking like a monster.

Sanji watched her long and hard; he knew how much she loved Zoro, and that Zoro felt the same about her, and it made no sense that she would turn him away for the scars now, after everything they had come through together. Her scars represented something deeper in her mind, and he hadn't yet figured out what. "Do you not want to talk to me then, either? I helped him," he challenged.

She turned to him with shocked eyes. "No! That's… we're fine, Sanji," she said, a frown furrowing her brow. _There's no reason to get him dragged into this, remember, don't hurt anyone,_ she reminded herself. "We really are. I don't blame you for getting dragged into Zoro's choices," she said honestly, the sincerity of this answer in contrast to her earlier statements only confirming what he suspected.

He studied her face for a moment; he was going to drag her pain to the surface, whatever the root cause was, and make Zoro see it beyond his own pain, one way or another. "Well then, let's do something fun tonight. Come dancing with me," he asked, a chivalrous smile crossing his face.

Iris hesitated; she hadn't for a moment thought he'd ask her out, how was she supposed to say no to one of her new crewmates? She had never been given the opportunity to do so, and even now turning him down barely registered in her mind as an option. Her mind went blank and she felt like a deer in the headlights before she was able to pull herself together and answer with a plastered smile, "S-Sure. That'd be fun, Sanji."


	17. Chapter 17

Sanji invited the rest of the crew to go out on the town that evening for an exciting night of drinking and partying, to celebrate Iris's freedom from the last of the bandages. Nami and Robin were shocked to hear that Sanji was taking Iris out that evening; her romance with Zoro had been so obvious that such a drastic twist of events with Sanji was difficult to comprehend, to say the least. Robin suspected that Sanji had ulterior motives with such a move, but kept her thoughts to herself. Either way, Iris had come to the two girls not for love advice, but fashion sense. As they helped her choose an outfit for going out for the evening, Nami decided to try and pry into what was going on herself.

"I didn't know you were into Sanji," she said with a sneaky smile on her face, shuffling through a variety of skirts, shirts, and dresses.

Iris returned the smile, hiding her broken heart from the navigator easily. The more people she worked to fool and hide herself from, the easier it was becoming; but with each new deception she felt more and more hollow. "Do I have to be into a man to agree to go out with him?" she answered playfully as Robin styled her hair and did her make up. "I'm free now. I just want to see where the new boundaries are, if there are any. If there aren't, then I'm just going to do what I want, when I want, and with who I want."

"That's my girl," Nami said confidently, unable to counter Iris's false sense of independence even though she knew something was very out of place. "Here's a good dress," she said, holding up a red, strapless number with a tight fitting bodice and a swirly skirt. "What's best about it is that it's red; if Sanji has a nosebleed from how hot you look in it, at least it won't show," she said, earning giggles from both Robin and Iris as the three finished getting ready for the evening.

Zoro hadn't wanted to go; but Sanji had already set a trap in motion to make sure the swordsman came. The chef let Usopp in on his plan, who in turn got Luffy to order Zoro to come out and drink, the captain under the impression that it wouldn't be right to party without his first mate. Zoro reluctantly agreed, and the majority of the Straw Hats arrived at an airy club playing upbeat samba music, save for Chopper who stayed behind to watch the ship.

Iris felt awkward at Sanji's side, especially with Zoro along with them all. In the back of her mind, she was trying to find a way out of this, but she didn't know how to tell Sanji no, or any of the crew, really. _You've got to cut this off before Sanji gets involved any more. You're not worth it, you know he deserves better just like Zoro does,_ that small voice echoed in the back of her mind again. Sanji's voice interrupted her thoughts, however.

"Drink or dance first, my princess?" he asked, chivalrous smile crossing his face, determined not to give Iris any chances to get away.

"Mm, dance, I suppose," she answered, still distracted by her own thoughts. Zoro had already found his way to the bar and was going through shots of rum like they were water; she wanted to avoid him as much as possible. Sanji led her to the dancefloor and they began to dance to the samba music, much to Zoro's disappointment; Sanji had been worried at first that the swordsman was going to drink himself stupid, but he made a mental note that Zoro was eyeing them carefully just as the chef had hoped. She may not want Zoro at her side now for reasons unbeknownst to him, but the chef was keenly aware that the swordsman still wouldn't let anyone hurt her, especially himself. As it stood, Sanji was dancing with her far too closely and she didn't seem entirely comfortable with his proximity at first, but both gracefully and expertly danced several songs away. Not once did Iris push Sanji away, and for most of the evening appeared to actually be enjoying the night out with him as they alternated drinks and dances; seeing that she was happy, Zoro tried to watch them less and less. Occasionally, the rest of the crew members joined them out on the dancefloor; all in all, it appeared everyone was having a good time, save for the swordsman. Close to the end of the evening, however, Zoro glanced towards Sanji and Iris on the dancefloor one last time, and his heart seized. A slower song was playing, and space between blacksmith and chef was nonexistent; Sanji appeared to be whispering something to her in her ear. But what caused him pain most was the discomfort he read on her face; it seemed she didn't want to be there with him after all. _Why does she just not push him away, then, dammit?!_ he thought in hopeless frustration.

The walk back to the ship was even more awkward than the journey to the club; alcohol had disinhibited everyone. Sanji was getting cozier with Iris, Zoro was scowling more and more as the walk wore on, and the rest of the crew members were singing and talking loudly, either truly oblivious to the tension building between the three bringing up the rear or trying desperately to be so. Most of the crew immediately headed for their quarters to crash for the night, but Sanji led Iris to the railing to watch the stars, an arm around her waist and the other hand in her hair. Zoro watched them out of the corner of his eye for just a few moments as he paused at the door to the hallway before retiring himself, then froze as Sanji tilted her chin up to kiss her; the chef's closed eyes failing to notice a solitary tear trace down her cheek. In the moment that it took for the drop to sparkle in the moonlight, he was across the deck with Wado at Sanji's throat.

"Zoro! What the hell are you doing? Can't you see we're in the middle of something here?" Sanji snapped. _Finally, God, I didn't peg him for the patient type; thought he'd never move off his ass!_

"What the hell are you doing, you shitty cook?! Aren't you the one always saying you can hear a woman's tears from miles away?" he retorted, rage at the chef's blatant ignorance of Iris's pain causing his arm to tremor just barely enough for Iris to notice.

"I'm not crying, I'm not! Honestly!" Iris tried to defend frantically. _Don't hurt them! What are you doing!?_ that voice cried in her head, panicked. "Zoro, it's fine! Sanji, I think I'll just go to bed," she mumbled, looking down at the deck.

Sanji paused, watching her and looking back at Zoro, wondering if this was enough to get them talking again. "If that's what you want, my dear. Then I'll excuse myself and head to bed, too," he answered quietly, then turned and headed into the ship. Iris went to follow him, but was stopped by Zoro's question, the first words he had spoken to her since yesterday when she had let him leave her room without a word.

"If you hated being with him so much, then why even go out with him?" he asked, a raw pain lacing his voice.

She stopped, willing the tears in her eyes to go away with all her might. She took a deep breath and steadied her voice before answering without turning to face him. "Who said I didn't like being with him?" she questioned weakly. She heard him sheath his sword behind her and then his footsteps on the deck approaching her from behind. As much as the bitter voice told her to walk away and leave him there, she couldn't breathe and the pain in her chest froze her in place. He turned her to face him and took her hands in his.

"Iris, you don't have to lie to me. You don't have to lie to any of us. You don't have to put on this stupid act to hide whatever it is that's hurting you. I know something's wrong, please just tell me. It's eating me alive seeing you like this, even though I know you don't want me to help you anymore," he said, letting her see the tears in his own eyes. The raw ache that she saw in his face threatened to destroy her right then and there; if she hurt him, irreparably, there was no way she would be able to live with herself. _Push him away! Do whatever it takes to make him move on!_ the voice screamed inside her head. She tried to walk away, not able to answer him without a flood of sobs following.

"Don't run away from me. Not now," he said, voice cracking, clammy hands holding hers tightly. "Please, I'm begging you, Iris, tell me what you're thinking. I can see how much you're hurting, but I don't understand why. What happened to us? I thought you were happy with me. Do you not want me to love you anymore?"

Iris clamped a hand over her mouth attempting to stifle the unrelenting sobs; his words were too much, too broken, too painful. Zoro wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. "Don't hold back. You don't have to carry your pain by yourself. Share it with me."

"How can you look at me the same now as you did before?" she choked out as the dam of sobs burst, hiding her face in his chest. "I'm not the same as I was before. I'm not strong anymore, I don't even know if I can be again. My arms, my face are permanently scarred; I'm a monster now. I'm pushing you and Sanji away because you both deserve better than me, and I'm going to leave the Straw Hats. Luffy can't have a weak blacksmith in his crew. I'll never be the same again, and I'm not worth anything to anyone now," her words poured out before she could think them all through; the insistent voice in her head terrified at her outburst. _No! Don't you realize that will hurt him more than anything else?!_

His own tears stopped in disbelief, and he looked down at the top of her head. He held her tightly, unable to think of any words that would do enough justice to heal this. He had been prepared to face her wrath at his actions that disfigured her; he hadn't expected that her hatred had turned on herself. She had been doing so well; so many things had come together just right at Liberty Island, but she was still so fragile. Perhaps Cobalt had been right, in a way. Iris really wasn't free in her own mind; she was still trapped by what she had been told about herself for years and years by abusive, horrible people. "You can't push me away. You can't push Sanji away, either. Nor the rest of the crew. We will chase you to the ends of the earth. You are a Straw Hat now, and nothing you do, nothing you think, and nothing you become will ever change that. You are priceless. What you're worth? You can't be bought or sold anymore, you are free. Your heart and spirit are what make you priceless, not your strength or your scars. You are the most beautiful warrior I've ever met, Iris. Please stop saying this nonsense about being weak, and being a monster, and leaving the crew. You're not going anywhere, and no one wants you to. I won't let you," he said resolutely, pain still marking each word that he spoke, reflecting Iris's heartbreak.

Iris sobbed harder into his chest; the voice that had haunted her over the past few days was shrieking in her head, arguing against everything he was saying. But even that panicked voice couldn't stop how comforting Zoro's arms felt or convince Iris that she didn't want to spend the rest of her life standing and fighting with him. The voice couldn't drown out how deeply she loved him; and as those feelings began to silence the voice in her mind, she could only cry harder. _How can I even explain what I'm thinking and feeling? I don't even understand it myself, he'll probably just think I've lost it._ She couldn't catch her breath and she felt dizzy; the strength left her legs and Zoro caught her before she fell to the deck. He supported her shoulders with one arm and swept her legs up with the other, resting her head against his shoulder and carried her down to her room as she continued to cry. His heart stung with every gasp and choked sound, but he knew she wouldn't be able to tell him anything this way, she just had to let it out. He sat down on her bed and continued to hold her as she cried; soon they both fell asleep, their emotions overwhelming and exhausting them both.

Zoro awoke first, watching her sleep peacefully in the early morning light. He brushed the hair out of her face and wiped the tear stains from her cheeks, letting calloused fingers discover the spider web scar around her eye. Her scars were no worse than his own. Nor were they any worse than Luffy's, Nami's, or Franky's. Or Robin's; Iris's hopeless determination reminded him of Robin's attempt to disappear from the Straw Hats at Water 7, and Luffy had shown that they would take on her enemies and fight to the end for her. He would do everything in his power to show Iris that same tenacity and stop her self-hatred in its tracks right now.

She stirred in his arms and looked up at him with eyes bleary from sleep and stale tears from the night before. "Good morning, beautiful," he said gently, a half-smile on his face. Tears filled her eyes immediately and she rested her head back on his chest. She'd tell him what was bothering her now; he could tell by the way that she wasn't trying to push him away anymore. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, but I'm all ears when you're ready to talk," he added quietly.

"Zoro, you'll think I've lost my mind if I tell you what's going on in my head," she whispered. "I don't even really understand it." She paused, anticipating a reaction of some sort, but he only waited patiently for her to continue. She closed her eyes once again, relaxing to the sound of his heartbeat and the slow movement of his chest rising and falling with each breath, then ventured on. "Things had been going so well up until Chopper took the bandages off and I saw these horrible scars, right? Except not totally. Somewhere along the line, when we were training and I saw myself falling behind, struggling with things that I should have learned quickly, I started to doubt being here. My muscles had atrophied; my shoulder is loose and won't ever be as tight as it used to be. Even though my knee's completely healed, it still clicks and hurts when you and I train. I won't ever be as strong as I once was. The scars were just the last straw; my skin now just looks like how broken my body is and how broken I am as a person. After you left my room, I could hear a voice in my head. Not like actually hearing something, but these thoughts that I just couldn't make go away. They remind me of how much you and the Straw Hats have helped me and how I don't deserve any of it, and that just being here and being weak brings you all down. It's better if I go, Zoro, for you and Sanji and the rest of the crew. A weak link breaks the chain. At least that's what the voice would say. God, that doesn't make any sense out loud, does it?" she finished with lost eyes, pain filling her eyes with tears again.

"I understand what you're saying, but I don't agree with it," he answered, confused by only one thing. "What made you stop last night? You let me hold you and you cried until you couldn't even stand anymore. Why didn't the voice win then?" he asked.

Iris stopped, eyes growing wide. He was right; she had stayed with him even as everything in her head screamed at her not to. "I… I guess I'm not sure… or maybe I just don't want to think about it. It feels… scary, being here, and being with you and being free. That's weird. I stopped because I love you, and it felt so good being in your arms again. Everything in my head was yelling at me to go, but…"

"…your heart told you stay," Zoro finished for her. She looked back up at him, eyes dry finally, and a light growing in them again. "Just a whisper from your heart silenced all the screaming in your head, right? Didn't you tell Cobalt that you were going to follow your heart to this ship? What happened to that? What happened to you believing in yourself and your own strength? Did your new scars really take all that away from you? I don't believe that. I can't, I still see your true strength shining in your eyes," he said.

She rested her head back on his shoulder, forgetting about thought and the reason and logic she thought she knew. She basked in just feeling the moment, Zoro's heartbeat next to her, the feel of the ship rocking in the waves, the smell of his cologne, and the sight of the scars on her arms. _Scars are just scars,_ a different voice whispered in her head, filling her chest with warmth. _They don't mean anything except what you let them mean. They can be your strength or your shame, whichever you choose. And Zoro sees them as part of you, and he loves you. What do you choose?_ She smiled.

"Zoro?" she asked, looking back up at him. "I can't promise that I won't lose myself in something stupid again, but will you always help me come back again when you know I still love you?"

He returned her smile, glad to see joy on her face again and reflecting in her eyes, but sad that she thought her own pain was stupid. "It's not stupid, and you're never lost if you stay with me and the rest of the crew," he reassured. "Are we okay now? Are you okay?"

She sat up and looked at him full in the face, sliding the hair in her face behind her right ear, exposing the scar in the brightening morning light. "Yeah, everything's okay now," she said, smiling. "Sanji's probably upstairs waiting for breakfast for us, isn't he?"

Zoro groaned. "Yeah, probably. I swear to God, if he lays one finger on you I will slice him into pieces so small no one will even be able to see them," he answered, a jealous wrath in his voice.

Iris chuckled. "I don't think Sanji actually was trying anything with me, to be honest. I don't want to upset you or anything, but I've gotten to know enough men to be able to tell whether or not there's genuine interest there. I get this feeling we were both set up," she theorized. Zoro just stared back blankly at her words before it dawned on him.

"You think he was playing on my jealousy to get us to talk again?" he asked, lowering his eyes and resting his forehead against hers. She nodded. "Goddammit, we've been had. By the damn love cook, no less." She giggled.

"There's nothing for it. Besides, considering the outcome, was it really such a bad idea? Come on, let's go eat. The rest of the crew will be relieved to know everything's okay now. Robin and Nami had an inkling that something was up, too."

Zoro sighed, his head starting to hurt. Emotions were so complicated.

Breakfast was lively and eventful, and much more jubilant and relaxed than the last meal that the crew shared. Zoro and Iris entered the galley hand in hand, and were met with overjoyed smiles and knowing grins. No one dared to make a comment on the events of the past two days, until Luffy spoke up. "Iris, are you feeling better now? You seem much happier than you were yesterday. Did Zoro fix whatever it was?"

She blushed, a shy smile creeping across her face as she looked down at the table. "Yeah, Zoro fixed it," she mumbled happily to the crew's delight. Sanji sat down next to her, the only remaining seat at the table, earning an angry glare from the swordsman. She turned to him. "Thank you, Sanji," she said quietly.

"Whatever do you mean? It seems I lost out on a chance with a beautiful lady, although for the life of me I have no idea why you choose an uncouth beast like him over a gentleman like me," he said with a wink. She only giggled as Zoro turned to scowl at him once again, glad that things were back to the way they should be. She glanced around the table, drinking in every last goofy prank and silly joke. Sanji watched her for a moment before saying what occurred to him next, and it left her nodding with stars in her eyes. "Do yourself and the rest of us a favor. Your heart's been leading you in the right direction all along, it's just your damned past distracting you from what you know is right. So think less, and feel more, because love is the light that leads your way."


End file.
